Experts say coronavirus vaccines could be available for kids in late 2021, early 2022.
People are working on it. It will take some time, but the goods are coming.
According to online reports, coronavirus vaccines for children are currently being studied in clinical trials in all age groups. This includes everyone from teenagers all the way down to wee little babies. While some trials are going more smoothly than others, all are adhering to safety protocols and scientific principles in place around the world in order to ensure children everywhere will one day get access to a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine.
Which companies are doing what? And how long are results expected to take? Here is a look at the main vaccine operators and what they are doing.
Pfizer Vaccine for Kids
Similar to what happened with COVID-19 vaccines in adults, Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine could be the first made available to children in the US and Canada. According to Pfizer’s own website, in July 2020 the company began Phase 3 clinical trials in children and youth aged 12 and up. It then began a global Phase 1/2/3 continuous study examining the vaccine in children 6 months to 11 years old in March 2021.
Getting the vaccine to kids is integral to ending the pandemic. According to Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, the principal investigator at Stanford working on testing the Pfizer vaccine in kids, this is because in places like the US, kids make ups good chunk of the general public. In fact, there are about 85 million children in the US.
“That’s about a quarter, or a little under a quarter of our U.S. population,” Maldonado commented to abc7news.com. “So it’s really important if we want to get herd immunity to include children.”
Pfizer’s trials involving children are similar to those that have tested the efficacy and safety of other childhood vaccines, Maldonado adds. If anything, we can rely on them being thorough.
Pfizer US Timelines
So, when is it coming? According to Dr. Anthony Fauci who was speaking to abcnews.go.com in February 2021, it is anticipated in the US that high school students will be able to get a coronavirus vaccine this coming fall. Summer no, but fall, yes. Consequently, by Christmas 2021, this group should be fully covered. In line with this, Fauci said that elementary aged children in the US should get the coronavirus vaccine sometime in early 2022. All predictions are just that however, predictions. Things could change.
Related: Here’s What You Should Know About the AstraZeneca Vaccine and Blood Clots
These more recent dates show a timeline that has now been pushed back some four or five months, so take it with a grain of salt and hope. At one time, Fauci predicted school children would be vaccinated by the summer of 2021. It’s not that he’s lying but that trials can take more time than anticipated.
Pfizer: Living in Canada?
If you are in Canada, you might as well batten down the hatches and head for the sea. Weather is rough. Vaccines for children will likely be a much longer time coming, north of the border. At the time of this writing the country’s most populous province of Ontario has been sent back into a strict, extended stay-at-home order. This is because coronavirus cases there are topping the US per capita in a vicious, rising third wave. Vaccines are in the country but they are in short supply. Police now have the right to pull people over and ask where they are headed, and playgrounds are closing again, it’s that bad.
What about vaccinating children? Many, (read ‘most’), Canadian adults are still waiting to be inoculated against the virus. In light of this, it is likely that kids in Canada will be waiting a while. They may get a coronavirus vaccine sometime well into 2022. That’s just an educated guess.
Moderna Vaccine for Kids
In March 2021, Moderna announced it was beginning phase 2/3 trials of its coronavirus vaccine in children 6 months to 11 years old. This follows in the footsteps of testing the vaccine in teens. The company enrolled 6,750 pediatric participants in the US and Canada for the study, and is testing its vaccine in people elsewhere around the world. Normally, phase 2-3 trials can take anywhere from some months to several years to complete. Obviously, the world cannot wait years for an effective coronavirus vaccine for children, and so it will likely take merely months to complete the study.
As with Pfizer’s vaccine, we are likely looking at late 2021, early 2022 for the Moderna vaccine to be made available to children.
Children and the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
Looking for more uncertainty and worry in your life? Read on. When the J & J vaccine will be available is up for much debate. In early April 2021, the US paused the rollout of this single-dose vaccine. This is because, like the AstraZeneca vaccine, J & J’s has caused blood clots in at least six women in the US.
Previously, Johnson & Johnson estimated their vaccine would be available for children by September 2021, in the US.
In Canada, this vaccine has been approved for use, but the country has yet to receive any doses. So, it remains to be seen if this vaccine will ever reach the Canadian public.
Can Kids Get the AstraZeneca Vaccine?
Last but not least, there is the AstraZeneca vaccine. The AstraZeneca vaccine could take the longest to reach children, if it ever does. As with J & J’s vaccine, this two-dose vaccine has been linked to potentially deadly blood clots in several people worldwide. Unfortunately, some have died as a result of getting the vaccine. While the cases have been very rare, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford have paused trials of the vaccine in children out of an abundance of caution. This is being done until more information is gathered regarding the cause of the blood clots.
Seeing as things are iffy, Dr. Fauci has stated the US may not ever roll out the AstraZeneca vaccine within its borders. The country may have enough coronavirus vaccine without it.
What about Canada? This vaccine is approved for use in Canada, but in adults 55 and over only, at the time of this writing.
When looking forward to a time when most kids and teens in the US and Canada will have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, it is probably wise to set your sights on some time in 2023. It seems far away, but that could be when we finally leave the pandemic in our past. It could be that we see results and widespread vaccination in younger age groups before this, but it is going to take a while to complete.
Here’s hoping that most adults in these two countries will be able to get their vaccine before January 2022. Please get your vaccine and help end the pandemic.
photo credits: Ira Lichi/Shutterstock.com
