By Chad Savage, M.D. -
I love the COVID-19 vaccines.
I am truly blown away by the new mRNA vaccines and how amazingly effective they are. I love it so much that I eagerly lined up for my own vaccination when it became available. As a middle-aged man, I recognize that my risk of serious complications or death is increasing as I age, so I am happy to be protected by this incredible new technology.
However, that does not mean I am ready to give the COVID-19 vaccine to my kids. Children are at a vanishingly low risk of dying from COVID, and any vaccine to mitigate such a low risk should be safer than the minimal risk it is attempting to mitigate. Basically, the cure cannot be worse than the disease.
Thus far, the COVID-19 vaccines being distributed in the United States are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for adults under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Pfizer and Moderna are now seeking an EUA for COVID vaccine use in children. Preliminary study results are highly encouraging.
But is an EUA the correct mechanism needed for approval of childhood COVID vaccines?
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