Vaccinating PA Children For COVID: CHOP Recommends In New Report

PHILADELPHIA, PA — For months now, COVID-19 vaccinations have focused on the nation's most vulnerable populations, working backward until eligibility was finally opened up to the general public earlier this month in Pennsylvania. The general public, of course, has always meant anyone aged 16 and older.

But now, health experts say, it's time to vaccinate children. And according to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Policy Lab, messaging to that effect is sorely needed.

"We are increasingly concerned by some emerging commentary suggesting that there is less justification to vaccinate children than adults because the case fatality rate of COVID-19 is lower in children," the Lab shared in their latest COVID-19 outlook published Wednesday.

Nearly 300 children have died from COVID-19 nationwide, meaning it represents a threat on par with the flu (200 deaths), measles (500 yearly deaths before a vaccine was available), and varicella (75-100 deaths a year before a vaccine was available).

According to the Lab, states are planning on soon opening up eligibility to children aged 12 to 15. But eligibility is only part of the equation. Just like other groups of skeptics, there is outreach to be done. This is particularly true given that many anti-vaccination groups take their roots from campaigns against vaccines that primarily protect children in school environments.

"Advocacy and education have been helpful to persuade vaccine-hesitant adults to obtain the vaccine," the Lab writes. "This now needs to be expanded to include recommendations for parents around vaccination of their children."

CHOP's team put forth several arguments for why vaccinations were important, noting a rare but often severe complication of COVID seen in children called multi-inflammatory syndrome. That has impacted some 3,000 children nationwide, they say.

Moreover, because children comprise such a huge chunk of the population, immunizing them helps the nation reach herd immunity more quickly. In the meantime, they're potential carriers that could infect high-risk groups like their parents or grandparents. Senior welfare groups like the AARP have been public in advocating that children get vaccinated for this reason.

Finally, there's the specter of school next fall with the virus still lingering in younger age groups. Vaccinations and herd immunity would help school districts move firmly past the pandemic.

Pfizer has run clinical trials for the vaccine in children between 12 and 15 years old, and the vaccine was 100 percent effective in that trial. In fact, CHOP says, the vaccine resulted in greater antibody responses in the kids, because children often have a stronger immune system.

For now, CHOP is only recommending the vaccine for the 12 to 15-year-old age group, noting that "additional investigation is needed and underway in children under age 12."

Pennsylvania has not yet opened eligibility to children under 16, nor indicated when that may occur.

Nearly 5 million Pennsylvanians have received at least their first dose as of data shared Wednesday.

Read CHOP's full guidelines and outlook for vaccinating children here.