Millions of American parents are now either partially or completely vaccinated against COVID-19. But for millions of children, that prospect is still a long way off.
While many teens 16 and older can now get vaccinated – and new data from Pfizer suggests its vaccine is safe and extremely effective in children up to 12 – we are probably a few months away. by the large packages of children wrapping up their sleeves.
“Most children are more likely not to be vaccinated by the end of this year or early next year,” said Steven Abelowitz, a pediatrician at Coastal Kids Pediatrics in Orange County, California. He stressed, however, that even the best assumptions are “all speculation” at this time.
This means that parents are in a strange period of Monday, when they suddenly have much greater protection, but their children do not. Here are some basic things to keep in mind when navigating to the new (new new?) normal.
First of all, know that for children, nothing has really changed.
You may feel quite different from getting vaccinated, but keep in mind that COVID-19 precautions for children and other unvaccinated people have not changed in recent months, Abelowitz said.
Children should continue to protect themselves by wearing face masks, avoiding congestion and poorly ventilated indoor spaces and washing their hands – pretty much everything we’ve heard and hopefully done in the last year. A slight change: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now say that 3 meters of physical distance is enough to prevent the spread of coronavirus in schools.
But spending time indoors with vaccinated family members is now safe.
An area where it exists It has some changes have been federal recommendations regarding how children can interact with fully vaccinated people outside their households.
People who have been fully vaccinated can now spend time indoors – and unmasked – with those who have not, as long as unvaccinated people (in this case, children) are not at high risk for serious complications of COVID-19, according to the CDC.
This means that if your child has a loved adult in their life who is fully vaccinated, he or she can move on and stay indoors without having to worry about contracting the virus. (Of course, no one can say there is no risk, but the risk is low, especially now that the CDC says there is enough evidence that fully vaccinated people are not likely to transmit the virus.)
All this is probably very welcome news for a lot of grandparents, aunts and uncles and babysitters – and for the children who love them.
Their * mathematical * risk of catching COVID-19 is lower.
To be clear: you are not vaccinated direct affects your child’s own risk of taking COVID-19 – unless you are breast-feeding, in which case there is growing evidence that breastfeeding parents are actually transmitting along with antibodies.
So if, say, your children are exposed to COVID-19 at school or someone who is infected coughs on your children during a flight to a family vacation, your vaccination status does nothing to keep them healthy. .
That being said, when parents or caregivers are vaccinated, it influences – in a more rounded way – the level of risk of children.
“What we have learned from the vast majority of epidemiological studies is that children become infected through their household contacts,” said David Cennimo, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. So, if parents are vaccinated, they are very unlikely to bring COVID home.
“In a total mathematical equation,“ how protected are they? “They are much more protected now that you have the vaccine.” ”
However, we are not close to the point where the herd’s immunity would give them more direct protection.
Do you want to reduce your child’s risk? Ask about vaccination status.
Are you planning game meetings? Are you thinking about family travel? Considering the camp or the extracurricular? The same basic elements that have guided risk-benefit analyzes so far during the pandemic continue to apply. Outdoor settings are less risky than indoor settings. Larger spaces are better than smaller spaces. Being in a small group (or not at all in a group) is safer than being in a large group.
But one thing has changed: now you should definitely ask people about their vaccination status, which can be a difficult conversation.
“If I had a child and they were going to a play date, I’d like to know: are the adults in that household vaccinated?” Cennimo said. “Because if they are, the probability of COVID existing in that household is much lower.”
Know that if this – any of these – seems difficult to solve, you are not alone. There are no easy answers, and parents will still have to make decisions that feel right to them.
Parents should also feel empowered to weigh the potential benefits of letting their children reconnect with friends or simply have fun, Cennimo said. All these are considerations to keep in mind.
“People need to think about their level of comfort and, in line with the guidance provided, really focus on their level of comfort,” he said.