The authorization of a second vaccine for adolescents may assist persuade extra mother and father, a few of whom have expressed reluctance about having their youngsters vaccinated, that the photographs are secure, consultants stated. “Most parents vaccinate their children,” Dr. O’Leary stated. “With the Covid vaccines, we’ve seen a little bit more hesitancy, but the further along we get demonstrating safety and effectiveness, the more people we’re seeing wanting the vaccine.”
It would additionally give mother and father and youngsters a selection between vaccines, though consultants famous that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines seem like equally secure and efficient.
“This really give parents, I think, a little bit more confidence,” stated Rupali Limaye, an knowledgeable on vaccine use and hesitancy at Johns Hopkins University. “If they’ve had personal experience, for example, with one of the mRNA products and not the other, they might feel more comfortable then saying, ‘You know, I had a great experience with Moderna, so I really want my child to get Moderna.’”
But as a result of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines each require two photographs, spaced a number of weeks aside, making certain that every one teenagers have entry to the vaccine might stay a problem. “I think we’ll still unfortunately not be able to reach more underserved populations that are facing vaccine disparities, because it’s still the two-dose regimen,” Dr. Limaye stated. Authorizing a one-dose vaccine, just like the Johnson & Johnson shot, to be used in adolescents might assist shut these gaps, she stated.
The U.S. already has sufficient doses to vaccinate adolescents many instances over. There are roughly 25 million American youngsters between the ages of 12 and 17, in response to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. That is roughly the identical variety of photographs that Pfizer and Moderna are distributing, in whole, per week within the U.S.
“Right now, we have more than enough supply to vaccinate our teens,” stated Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious illness specialist at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York. “So it’s not so much that the Moderna vaccine is critical for having supply for our population, but rather, having a second vaccine come online for that age group that could be available to the rest of the world — I think that is important.”
Many different international locations, nevertheless, is not going to be able to vaccinate their adolescents for fairly a while. Although more than 1.7 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, there are huge inequities between international locations; 84 % of doses have gone to folks in high- and upper-middle-income international locations. Just 0.three % have gone to low-income international locations.
