Julie Swann is an engineer. She is studying health systems and infectious diseases at North Carolina State University. She leads a team of researchers. His team recently studied how the delta version of the corona virus can spread to different schools. The results, published recently in the Washington Post, were alarming.
According to the study, more than 75 percent of sensitive students who do not wear masks and are not tested will become infected within the next three months. Even masked and tested students are more likely to become infected if they live in a less immune environment. Almost all primary school classrooms are at risk. Twenty-two percent of these students were found to be cowardly within 107 days. As a parent of two primary school students, that statistic was frightening to me. Even before that, it felt like a kick in the stomach, when the director of the National Institute of Health, Dr. Francis Collins said he did not expect the children’s covid vaccine to be approved by the end of this year.
I live in New York City. There is no dispute that school staff need to wear vaccines and masks. But research by Swann’s team found that none of the children could get the vaccine without covid. Even after talking to Swann, it seemed that it was not so simple. Her team investigated the effects of quarantining students who tested positive and the ineffective use of masks. She hopes the number of infections will be lower in many schools than in research. Although this is impossible, it is very comforting for the parents to take Kovid seriously. But these parents are surrounded by people who do not take Kovid seriously.
Schools have just opened. Children’s hospital admissions rates are much higher than before. That’s why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) needs to take appropriate action as soon as possible. ‘I can assure you that the data will be available with Pfizer to present this September’, P.D. Vonnie Maldonado said. He is Stanford’s lead researcher on the Pfizer Bioentech pediatric vaccine test for pediatric infectious diseases. According to him, Pfizer will be able to get permission for emergency use this October.
According to the study, more than 75 percent of sensitive students who do not wear masks and are not tested will become infected within the next three months.
Why did Collins say vaccination would not be possible until the end of the year? It is not yet clear. So it is difficult for anyone with access to an answer to the question, ‘Will the FDA require some additional data on child immunizations?’ Last July, the FDA instructed Pfizer BioTech and Mordana to double the number of children in their clinical trials to detect rare side effects of the vaccine. The agency also called for a four- to six-month follow-up on post-vaccination security. For adults, follow-up is only two months.
Most experts do not think that this statistic is necessary to allow vaccines for emergency use. We do not know whether the FDA will emphasize this or not. Dr. Lee Savio Bears, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said it might be a decision point. “It simply came to our notice then. Two weeks ago, 108 members of Congress also expressed concern about how long it would take for children to be vaccinated. He wrote a letter to the FDA inquiring about the vaccination schedule. The FDA responded. But no specific time was specified.
“While we understand that the public has full confidence in the FDA’s review process, the public has confidence in our commitment to any product and healthcare we approve,” the agency said. But personally I am losing that faith. There is a fear that the FDA will be blamed if anything goes wrong with the vaccine. But without it, children do not necessarily become seriously ill. Even with the Delta virus, children are less likely to die than adults. But this does not mean that there is no peace of mind. Because the beds in the children’s hospital are full.
In a recent letter to President Biden, the chief executive of the Children’s Hospital Association said: Demand for this specialty has grown significantly as a result of recent corporate scandals. There may not be enough beds. There may be a lack of specialists to look after children and their families. ‘ Parents who are convinced that covid is many times more dangerous than vaccines for their children are making every effort to get their child vaccinated. Some parents even lie about getting vaccinated.
I am also one of those who keep trying even if they fail, who are taking initiative with their pediatrician to vaccinate their children. Pfizer’s vaccine has been fully approved by the FDA, so it seems technically legal. Swan’s 10-year-old son is going to school. She told me that if her pediatrician agreed to vaccinate, she would do the same. ‘A lot of parents are anxiously waiting for it,’ she said.