It’s a big topic because it affects the ones you love the most: your children, your kids. You don’t want them to get the coronavirus. But what’s there to know about the children’s vaccine?
“Most drug trials start off with adults first and then they may have safety profiles in adults then they may move into pregnant women and also children at the same time,” explained Dr. Andrew Gentry, the primary investigator for Covid-19 vaccination trials at Bozeman Health.
Bozeman Health is working with a pharmaceutical company to find a vaccine for the virus for adults.
“You give everyone these vaccines, so we’ve given it to 120 something people in our area. Does it actually prove immunity to the virus? I mean, this is what the whole trial is about," he said.
But as a parent, why might you consider vaccinating your child, especially if symptoms may not be as severe?
“Because they’re the ones who spread it to their grandparents, and so if you vaccinate children. Just like the flu. Not that many children have severe flu-like symptoms but they’re the ones who give it to the older adults when they come at Christmas and visit,” Dr. Gentry explained.
And the million-dollar question is how safe would this new prevention be?
“Right now I can tell you the safety data for the adults is actually very, very good. Right up there with all the other vaccinations that are available to both kids and adults. So, extrapolating that to children, it’s going to be just as safe for children as it is for adults," he said.
And after safety is established, the doctor believes a children’s vaccine won’t take long to find.
“It’ll go very quickly because they’ve proven safety, and that’s the biggest thing,” the doctor said.
The vaccine is being developed by Pfizer, only one of five possible vaccines currently being worked on.