Dr. Fauci’s Latest Predictions on the Vaccine Timeline For Young Children

Earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci made what turned out to be overly optimistic predictions that children as young as 6 might be able to be vaccinated as early as this Fall (Pro Publica, February 1, 2021).  But The American Academy of Pediatrics warned that manufacturers have not given enough urgency to clinical trials in children under 16 yrs, and that an autumn timeline was unlikely

In a February 18th White House Press Briefing, Dr. Fauci walked back his comments, saying that we just won’t have enough data to secure FDA approval for elementary-age children before early 2022.

The good news, for now, is that there is still reason to hope that we can begin vaccinating children over 12 years of age in the autumn quarter.  We know that teenagers are more likely to transmit the virus compared to young children, so vaccinating them would go a long way to stabilizing the education system and parents’ work schedules.  This would require that clinical trials continue to go well and that sufficient vaccine supply is available.

Sky Pittson, MD,  February 24, 2021