What parents need to know about newly approved COVID vaccines for children under age 5

Judy Woodruff:

As we reported, COVID vaccines for children under 5 could be available as early as next week, now that the FDA has given its stamp of approval.

Many parents and caregivers of the youngest have long awaited this and argue that they have had to wait too long. But even so, there are big questions about how widely the vaccines will be taken up.

William Brangham has the latest.

William Brangham:

Judy, that FDA committee unanimously approved kids' vaccines from both Moderna and Pfizer today. Pfizer's is given in three shots, Moderna's in two, and at slightly different dosages.

There are approximately 18 million kids in this age group who would be eligible to get the shots.

For some insight into this moment, I'm joined by Dr. Andrea Singh. She's the chief of pediatrics at Park Nicollet Clinics and Hospital in Minnesota.

Hello, Dr. Singh. Welcome to the "NewsHour."

Could I just get your reaction to today's development?

Dr. Andrea Singh, Park Nicollet Clinics and Hospitals: Yes, I'm very excited.

As you said, there have been 18 million children in our country that really haven't had an option of having a vaccine. And so this unanimous approval of both Moderna and Pfizer today is really exciting news for a lot of parents.

William Brangham:

And do you feel confident that the safety data is clear for both of these vaccines that this is the right call for kids?

Dr. Andrea Singh:

Yes, I think — I am very confident.

And it really meant a lot that there was a unanimous vote of confidence in the data that was submitted thus far. As always, we're going to have to continue to look at the data as more and more kids get the vaccine and make sure that what we see in this initial sample size is actually holding true.

But I feel very comfortable offering this vaccine to my patients and family members that haven't had the option yet.

William Brangham:

What about choosing which vaccine? Does it matter, Moderna or Pfizer? Does the two-shot vs. three-shot factor in your recommendations at all?

Dr. Andrea Singh:

Yes, I think it's a really good question.

And we don't — these two vaccines were not studied head to head. And they pointed that out in some of the committee hearings today. So, you really can't make a direct comparison.

I think there are some families that will choose to do the two-dose series or Moderna, which is a higher strength, but only two doses were studied. Other families will choose to go with Pfizer, which is a lower dose, but three vaccines kind of spread out.

William Brangham:

There is, I'm sure, a slice of parents who are, as we speak, calling your office to make appointments as quickly as possible to get their children vaccinated.

But not everyone is as eager, as you well know. How do you talk with a parent who is more in the camp of, I'm just going to wait and see, I'm not so sure, I'm not sure I'm going to do this just yet?

Dr. Andrea Singh:

Yes, I — it's a super important conversation.

And I do encourage parents, if you are kind of sitting on the fence, make that appointment with your child's health care provider so that you can have that discussion, because it is really important to talk through it with a professional that knows kind of the science and background in your own child's personal history, right?

A recent Family Kaiser Foundation studies show that 18 percent of families were super eager and calling right away to get the vaccine once it was approved. About 38 percent of parents was kind of in that camp that you're describing, and then the rest kind of said, yes, no, not for us.

As a pediatrician, I have been talking with my families of younger children for months, even years at this point in time, about the pros and cons of a potential vaccine for this age group. I think one thing that's super important to call out is that there's a misconception out there that COVID isn't dangerous for children, and a lot of kids have already had it, and they have been fine, and it's a little cold, and so they don't need the vaccine.

But the data shows that, while only 3 percent of COVID cases have been in this young child age group, those kids tend to get more serious complications, more hospitalizations, and more long-term issues, so really important vulnerable group that we're talking about, this 6-month-to-5-year or 6-year-age group.

William Brangham:

What if a parent comes to you and says, well, my kid recently had COVID, they have gotten over it now, and so don't they have protection, and, thus, I don't need the shot? What do you tell them?

Dr. Andrea Singh:

Inevitably, everybody's body does not some immune response after a COVID infection.

However, that immunity really — the length of how long the immunity lasts really varies from person to person. And so we in the medical community do recommend getting the vaccine series started, even if you have had an infection.

William Brangham:

What about this other risk that some people might have heard about, especially with regards to males, which is this heart condition myocarditis?

Does the data indicate that this is an issue with these vaccines for kids?

Dr. Andrea Singh:

It's a really important topic that they discussed in review of the data that came forth over the last couple of days.

And, fortunately, there were not cases of myocarditis that were seen in the studies that have been done. It is something we're going to have to watch very closely as we move forward. What we do know and what we can extrapolate from the older kids that have gotten myocarditis related to vaccine is that infection — you're five to 10 times more likely to get myocarditis from COVID illness itself than from the vaccine.

So, whenever we hear this stuff, it's super scary. We only want to do the right things for our kids. And it's really important to put the information that you're hearing into context about viruses cause myocarditis. That is something well-known in the pediatric medical community.

Obviously, we don't want to be the ones inducing it. Fortunately, it did not seem like that was common in the data that was studied.

William Brangham:

All right, Dr. Andrea Singh, pediatrician and chief of pediatrics at Park Nicollet Clinics and Hospitals, thank you so much for your help.

Dr. Andrea Singh:

You're welcome. Thanks for having me.