Brett Giroir: Children Do Not Need a Vaccine To Get Back to School Safely

RUSH EXCERPT:

GIROIR: “Well, we all — as a pediatrician we certainly want to have the data to show that it’s safe and effective in children. We don’t have that yet. That is coming though. 16 and above for one vaccine, 18 and above for the modern vaccine, but I think it’s very important for listeners to understand that getting children back to school right now is safe now. If there is data upon data upon data that children could go back to school safely in person. There is a recent study in the mmwr that says of all the places children are likely to turn positive, school is not one of them. So it is safe and very important to get children back in school even before they are vaccinated. Now with the community rates going down we hope after the holidays, because we are seeing that trend right now and with vaccines, it will be even safer because there will be less spread in the community but children do not need a vaccine to go back to school safely. It’s vital for their health to get them back physically present as soon as possible.”