"Schools have slowly started reopening, but a few important things to ensure they stay open, are masks and hand sanitizer, but one issue is vaccine testing on children."-- Daria oxley, 7th grade
Due to COVID-19, schools had closed and gone online for safety reasons, but recently some have considered reopening, with a few safety measures of course. But one issue still remains, and that is vaccine testing on children. The only problem with children getting a vaccine is that it varies between the age groups of the children. “Immune systems in kids can vary greatly depending on age, a 16-year-old is going to have a much different immune system than a 16-month-old,” said pediatric infectious disease specialist Frank Esper, MD “Because of this, additional data and research is needed when evaluating a vaccine for kids.” . Because of the difference in the immune systems, making a vaccine that works for kids of all ages is difficult.
The vaccine is harder to make for kids than adults since adult immune systems have already finished developing, while kids are still in the process of growing. Studies for children look similar to those for adults, but with some key differences. “Like adult studies, half of the children participants receive an injection with the vaccine, and the second half of the participants receive a saline placebo injection.” said by Dr. Todd Ellerin, an ABC News contributor and infectious disease specialist at South Shore Health.
The vaccine may be hard to make, but there are also other issues, namely, would the parents want their child to take the vaccine? And if the child is old enough to decide whether or not they want it, would they take the vaccine? There are still things we don’t know about the vaccine’s effects on kids. These are all questions that come with the vaccine. The ongoing and future studies in children are primarily looking at two things, safety and tolerability, and immune response, noted Dr. Rick Malley, an infectious disease pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital. The making of an effective vaccine is going to be difficult on its own, but it also depends mostly on the immune system.
“Kids are a special and vulnerable population and we try to protect them because they can’t make decisions for themselves,” says Dr. Esper, “In clinical trials - whether for a vaccine or any type of treatment - we don’t want to speed things up because it’s a matter of protection and safety.” Hopefully with the continued study of the children's immune system, schools will be able to reopen soon.
URL links:
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-vaccine-testing-children-scientists/story?id=76049115
https://www.today.com/health/kids-covid-19-vaccine-when-will-kids-be-vaccinated-t209942
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-a-covid-19-vaccine-for-children-may-take-awhile/
The vaccine is harder to make for kids than adults since adult immune systems have already finished developing, while kids are still in the process of growing. Studies for children look similar to those for adults, but with some key differences. “Like adult studies, half of the children participants receive an injection with the vaccine, and the second half of the participants receive a saline placebo injection.” said by Dr. Todd Ellerin, an ABC News contributor and infectious disease specialist at South Shore Health.
The vaccine may be hard to make, but there are also other issues, namely, would the parents want their child to take the vaccine? And if the child is old enough to decide whether or not they want it, would they take the vaccine? There are still things we don’t know about the vaccine’s effects on kids. These are all questions that come with the vaccine. The ongoing and future studies in children are primarily looking at two things, safety and tolerability, and immune response, noted Dr. Rick Malley, an infectious disease pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital. The making of an effective vaccine is going to be difficult on its own, but it also depends mostly on the immune system.
“Kids are a special and vulnerable population and we try to protect them because they can’t make decisions for themselves,” says Dr. Esper, “In clinical trials - whether for a vaccine or any type of treatment - we don’t want to speed things up because it’s a matter of protection and safety.” Hopefully with the continued study of the children's immune system, schools will be able to reopen soon.
URL links:
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/covid-19-vaccine-testing-children-scientists/story?id=76049115
https://www.today.com/health/kids-covid-19-vaccine-when-will-kids-be-vaccinated-t209942
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-a-covid-19-vaccine-for-children-may-take-awhile/
