The early
days of the pandemic brought much talk of a vaccine. Medical science has
developed vaccines for flu, measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough, smallpox, and
other diseases. Surely a Covid-19 vaccine was imminent? But conventional wisdom
stated it would likely take years to develop one. Fortunately, in a remarkable
turn of events, that turns out to be untrue.
Operation Warp Speed, a federal initiative that actually takes its name from Star Trek, will soon be offering not
just one, but several vaccines to the world. This blur of scientific activity is
unprecedented. But levels of misinformation, disinformation, and distrust are
also historic.
Under any
circumstances, a new vaccine brings questions, particularly from parents, but
especially so in the days of social media, hyper partisanship, and the
politicization of a pandemic response. Writing for Parents.com, Melissa Mills gives a rundown of the vaccines coming down the pike as early as late December
(but more likely early/mid 2021) and asks some medical professionals for
clarification.
READ MORE: Fighting the Covid-19 myths
The
leading contenders are from pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Pfizer. The
Moderna vaccine has been touted as 94.5 per cent effective. Pfizer is at 95 per
cent. Both companies are awaiting FDA approval, and expect to be distributing by
the end of this year. Priority will go to frontline workers like medical
personnel and nursing home employees, the elderly, and people with underlying
health issues. Of all the vaccine options, only Pfizer included children in clinical
trials.
So are these
vaccines safe for kids? At this point, the answer seems to be very likely, which, frankly, is not good
enough for most parents I know. According to Mills: “Some vaccine experts
believe that children won't be given the Covid-19 vaccine upon initial release
and that rigorous clinical trials on kids would need to happen first. In fact,
children might not see a coronavirus vaccine until late 2021.”
Also
currently unclear is how any of these vaccines will affect pregnant women and their
fetuses. Mills writes: “Pregnant women are not being included in current
vaccine clinical trials. In fact, Reuters reports that drug makers
working on the top contenders are ‘requiring proof of a negative pregnancy test
and a commitment to using birth control from women of childbearing age who
enroll.’”
The
upshot: although this amazing story of science, tech, and innovation is quite
promising, important questions remain for families. And yes, a lot of it
amounts to yet another call for patience.
Mills advises: “Health experts agree that families should follow the race for a
vaccine candidate and let the data speak for itself once testing is complete.”
Other articles by HVP News Reporters