The week's best parenting advice: December 15, 2020

A COVID vaccine for kids, holidays in lockdown, and more

A vaccine.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

1. Can kids get the COVID-19 vaccine?

With the first doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine being administered to adults in the U.S., Sumathi Reddy at The Wall Street Journal asks a pertinent question: "When will COVID-19 vaccines be available for children, and will they be safe?" While kids are less likely to get seriously ill from the virus, they can catch it and spread it to others, which means "it would be very, very difficult for us to reach herd immunity before vaccines are available to younger individuals," epidemiologist Michael Mina tells the Journal. But vaccines have to be tested in kids before they can be administered to kids. And the first trial of the Pfizer vaccine in older children has only just begun, with results expected in early 2021. Moderna wants to start testing its vaccine on children under 12 in the first quarter of next year, with the goal of developing a vaccine for adolescents "by the start of the 2021 school year," Reddy reports. Some doctors apparently think vaccine side-effects like fever and fatigue may be more pronounced in children than adults, but "side effects are a sign that the vaccine is working and the immune system is doing its job," Reddy writes.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jessica Hullinger

Jessica Hullinger is a writer and former deputy editor of The Week Digital. Originally from the American Midwest, she completed a degree in journalism at Indiana University Bloomington before relocating to New York City, where she pursued a career in media. After joining The Week as an intern in 2010, she served as the title’s audience development manager, senior editor and deputy editor, as well as a regular guest on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. Her writing has featured in other publications including Popular Science, Fast Company, Fortune, and Self magazine, and she loves covering science and climate-related issues.