Southern California Clinical Trials To Begin Of COVID Vaccine For Kids
FOUNTAIN VALLEY (CBSLA) - The call has gone out to Southern California children to participate in clinical trials for the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. If all goes as planned, kids could get the shot by the summer, according to the president of the Orange County chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"The vaccines are not approved by the F.D.A. until we are confident in the safety," said Dr. Kate Williamson, a pediatrician at Mission Hospital. "I feel very confident that we are going to be in that place in the near future."
Melissa Shephard, a Huntington Beach mother of two, said she will not be volunteering her 5-year-old and 7-year-old for the vaccine trials, but she will vaccinate them once doses are made available to the public.
"After it is cleared and the clinical trials have been OK'ed by the F.D.A., I'll let them get vaccinated," said Shephard. "I think everyone should get vaccinated."
There are hundreds of cases of children who've been hospitalized with coronavirus and kids who have died. Vaccinating children is key to keeping them safe, according to Dr. Williamson.
"Kids are spreaders of COVID-19. They see their grandparents and they see their neighbors," said Dr. Williamson. "They can very easily spread the disease."
Concerns about a bad reaction will prevent Jennifer Hosoi from vaccinating her children.
"I know it's really controversial but that's such a new vaccine so I wouldn't give it to my kids," said Hosoi.
Orange County continued its record-setting pace for COVID-19 hospitalizations Tuesday. The number of patients hospitalized rose from 2,178 Monday to 2,236 Tuesday, including an increase in intensive care patients from 500 to 504 — both new records.
County health officials also reported 1,376 newly confirmed cases and no new deaths, bringing countywide totals to 171,955 cases and 1,926 deaths.