COVID-19 Vaccines and Children | Duke Health

Michael Smith, MD, discusses the timeline and authorization status of COVID-19 vaccines for children and adolescents in late 2021.

More children are getting sick with COVID-19 due to the highly transmissible Delta variant as the school year is now underway, more people are gathering in public, and less people are wearing masks. In this video, Michael Smith, MD, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist with Duke Health, discusses when he thinks children under age 12 will be able to get a COVID vaccine. He explains that children age 12 to 15 are allowed to get the Pfizer vaccine under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization. Because that is not the FDA’s full approval, children in this age group may need signed parental consent in some states to get the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine is fully approved by the FDA for people age 16 and older. To protect your children under 12 from getting sick, he recommends everyone in your family who is eligible be vaccinated, and that your child wear a mask when they are at school or outside in your community among others. 0:00 Intro 0:26 What vaccines are available for children? 0:51 When will children under 12 be able to get vaccinated? 1:09 Does my child need parental consent to be vaccinated? 1:36 How can I protect my child who is under 12? 1:59 Can my child go to school safely? 2:29 How do children usually react to a COVID-19 infection?