There is growing evidence that children are now at greater risk

[bluewater]

There is growing evidence that -- for whatever reason (higher viral loads, something different about how the virus is handled by less mature immune systems, or something else), children infected by the Delta variant may develop a more severe form of the disease compared to illness caused by other forms of the virus.

In a recent NPR interview, Dr. Rick Barr, who leads the Arkansas Children's Hospital, said that the "Delta variant is acting very, very differently with respect to kids ... just in the month of July, we have [admitted] over 40 to the children's hospital. .. and a number of those have ended up in the intensive care unit."

Half the kids were below 12 years of age and not eligible for vaccine but the other half -- also not fully vaccinated, were 12 years old and up.

And Arkansas is not the only Southern state reporting the increase of child hospitalizations.

All this suggests that the next real area for debate is not whether the current vaccines are good enough against the Delta variant (they are, overwhelmingly) or whether we should mask up and spread out (yes, obviously), but rather what should we do about the children who are not yet eligible for vaccination under a US Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) but will be heading back to school in a month, or sooner -- during an outbreak of a viral variant that could get much more severe?

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/02/opinions/worrisome-thing-about-delta-variant-sepkowitz/index.html

And yet Gov. DeSantis (Republican) has blocked mask mandates in Florida schools.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/politics/state/2021/07/30/florida-governor-ron-desantis-pledges-block-mask-mandates-schools/5430397001/

[hlthe2b]

1. So when DeSantis' supporters start seeing their children intubated and dying, will they THEN begin

to question his competency? I should think if something CAN get through to some of these people, that would. Meanwhile, the rest of us are horrified.

[bluewater]

2. +1000

[Pobeka]

3. Not so sure it's worse for kids based on this alone.

Delta is infecting a lot more individuals, so you'd expect to see more individuals of any age class showing up in the hospital.

BTW: I'm not a fan of sending unvaxxed children back into schools with Delta running rampant, the protocols for keeping spread contained in schools were developed with Alpha/Beta contagiousness, not Delta.

[global1]

4. How Close Is The FDA To Recommending Vaccine Administration To Kids Under 12?....

Will this happen before the school year begins or will it be pushed into 2022?

If I had a kid under 12 starting school in the fall - I'd keep him home.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Pfizer and Moderna had started recruiting back in March

but recently the agency asked them to expand the number of participants due to reports of some children experiencing a rare heart inflammation. They may be able to get some results in for an EUA by the end of September (but probably not before) -

At the F.D.A.’s urging, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are expanding their trials for children 5 to 11.

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Sharon LaFraniere and Noah Weiland

July 26, 2021

At the urging of federal regulators, two coronavirus vaccine makers are expanding the size of their clinical trials for children ages 5 to 11 — a precautionary measure designed to detect rare side effects including heart inflammation problems that turned up in vaccinated people younger than 30. President Biden promised at a meeting in Ohio last week that emergency clearance for pediatric vaccines would come “soon,” but the White House has not been specific on the timeline. It was unclear whether expanding the studies will affect when vaccines could be authorized for children. The Food and Drug Administration has indicated to Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna that the size and scope of their pediatric studies, as initially envisioned, were inadequate to detect rare side effects.

Those include myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, inflammation of the lining around the heart, multiple people familiar with the trials said. Questions about vaccinating children — including those under 12 — are of huge interest to parents and teachers. Regulators will be required to balance potential side effects of coronavirus vaccination against the risks of Covid-19. Members of a C.D.C. advisory committee have said that the benefits of shots for people older than 12 greatly outweigh the risks, including of heart problems. The F.D.A. has asked the companies to include 3,000 children in the 5-to-11-year-old group, the group for whom results were expected first, according to people familiar with the situation. One of the people, granted anonymity to speak freely, described that figure as double the original number of study participants.

A spokesman for Moderna, Ray Jordan, confirmed that the company intends to expand its trial “to enroll a larger safety database which increases the likelihood of detecting rarer events” and expects to seek emergency authorization late this year or early next year.The Moderna trial began recruiting patients in March with the aim of enrolling 6,795 participants younger than 12. The participants were to be split equally into three age brackets, including a 6 to 11 year old group, of 2,265 participants each. Mr. Jordan said the company is “actively discussing” a proposal with the F.D.A. to expand the trial.

Pfizer is on a faster timetable than Moderna, and may be able to meet the F.D.A.’s expectations on a bigger trial size and still file a request to expand emergency authorization of its vaccine by the end of September. Reviewing all the safety and efficacy data will likely take regulators at least a few weeks. Pfizer has previously said it expects to have results for the 5-to-11-year-old group in September, with results for children aged 2 to 5 shortly after that. Results for the youngest children — 6 months to 2 years old — are expected in October or November. A spokeswoman said Monday that the company had no updates on its timetable.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/us/politics/fda-covid-vaccine-trials-children.html