Where are the vaccines for young children and what’s new in Long COVID

Lewis asked: Hello and welcome to COVID. Scientific American Podcast series.

Josh Fischman: This is the latest information about the COVID pandemic. We speed you up on the science behind the most urgent questions about viruses and illnesses. We explain the study in an easy-to-understand way and help us understand what it really means.

Lewis: This is Tanya Lewis.

Fishman: I’m Josh Fishman.

Lewis: And we Scientific AmericanSenior Health Editor. Today: Vaccines for small children may be almost here!

Fishman: And new evidence for long COVID shows who gets it most often and what are the most common symptoms.

Approximately one and a half years have passed since the COVID vaccine was approved by adults in the United States, but children under the age of five are still eligible, even though the child was tested more than six months ago. There is none. Will this change soon?

Lewis: probably. You can see why so many parents are frustrated. They have been told for months that the vaccine is right there. However, there were some promising developments.

like what? Did you get good results from the test?

Fishman: Just a few weeks ago, vaccine maker Moderna announced that it was applying for an emergency use of the vaccine for children aged 6 months to 6 years. Pfizer also recently announced in a press release that the vaccine is 80% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID in children under the age of 5, but the data have not yet been released.

Will it bring us closer to getting the green light from the FDA?

Lewis: Charlie Schmidt, SciAm contributor Asked an expert When can you expect a vaccine for a small one, why hold up, etc. The FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Board will meet on June 8, 21, and 22 to discuss eligibility for younger children.

Fishman: Did Charlie notice anything about what happens at these meetings?

Lewis: He spoke with Arnold Monto, acting chair of the advisory board and epidemiologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Monto said the FDA could issue an EUA for children within a day or two of these meetings, but said there was “no guarantee.” One possibility is that the Commission may recommend that the vaccine be approved only for high-risk or immunocompromised children.

Fishman: Would you like to allow it to all your kids?

Lewis: Well, the FDA has very high standards for approving new vaccines and other biological products for children. Children already have a much lower risk of serious consequences from COVID, so companies must show that vaccines do not cause other problems.

Fishman: So far, they haven’t seen any serious safety issues, have they?

Lewis: No, most side effects are mild and similar to those found in older children and adults. mRNA vaccines can cause side effects such as fever and can cause seizures in babies and young children. However, Moderna and Pfizer can achieve a strong immune response even at fairly low doses, reducing these risks. In addition, there were no cases of myocarditis, a rare heart inflammation that occurred in teens, mainly boys.

Fishman: Therefore, the vaccine appears to be safe. that’s good. But how effective are they?

Lewis: That’s a great question. Much of the early data came from actually examining the immune response to the vaccine, the level of so-called neutralizing antibodies produced by the vaccinated people. By comparing these levels with those found in older children and adults who had adequate protection against COVID infection, that protection can be extrapolated to young children. This is known as immune bridging.

Fishman: It looks at parts of the immune system and how they behave. How is the effect in the real world? Did the vaccine reduce the infection rate in children?

Lewis: For actual efficacy data, Pfizer has only published data on approximately 1,700 children, showing an efficacy rate of 3 doses of 80.3 percent. Moderna reported that the efficacy rate of double-dose vaccines for children under 6 years was 37-51% lower. It is not yet known if it will meet the FDA’s standards.

Fishman: Okay, it’s interesting. It’s like a big spread of effects. Is the FDA waiting to evaluate Moderna’s data until Pfizer’s data is available?

Lewis: That is the issue. Politico reported that the agency has postponed the review of Moderna’s submissions until Pfizer enters. Wait for the FDA to review it. ” Pfizer expects the data to be submitted by the FDA’s advisory board meeting in June, so it is possible that both Pfizer and Moderna data will be reviewed at the same time.

Fishman: And like many worried parents, we are watching it carefully.

Lewis: It is becoming clear that acute COVID is not the only result of this disease. Long COVID, a dragged symptom, is a real problem. Two new reports reveal who got it and what it looks like.

Fishman: There is no strict definition of long COVID, Tanya yet. However, it is estimated that 10-30% of infected people will have at least one symptom, the actual disability problem, at least one month after the virus is removed, and in some cases half a year. Often there are several symptoms.

Lewis: I saw New CDC report This means that one in five infected people can develop a long COVID. What is the most common problem?

Fishman: According to new research, the most influential factor for people is severe fatigue. It’s like walking from one room to another and getting tired. Second, I have problems holding my breath, and I have loss of smell, headaches, insomnia, and memory problems. There is also a loss of concentration. This is what people often call “brain fog”.

This list is Annual report of internal medicine, And it is the first report from a long-term study conducted by the National Institutes of Health. All of these people were evaluated 6 weeks after a positive virus test.

Lewis: Are many of these people older, as age seems to make them more vulnerable to COVID?

Fishman: Tanya, old age doesn’t seem to really be a big risk factor. In fact, people between the ages of 39 and 50 are most likely to be diagnosed with a post-COVID condition. This comes from a vast analysis of private health insurance claims collected by a non-profit organization called, made to over 78,000 people. Fair health..

Lewis: They found that women are more likely to have long-term problems than men, right? About 60 percent compared to about 40 percent?

Fishman: Yes, they did. Another major finding was that severe illness was not a risk factor. Three-quarters of these people were not hospitalized. Therefore, there are mild cases that can suffer even months later.

Lewis: One of the problems with long-term COVID patients is that this is not an easy condition to diagnose. Is there any new information about it?

Fishman: The study confirmed the difficulty. The NIH team enlisted people in the study through blood tests, lung tests, heart tests, etc., but found no abnormalities.

That is, the state is real, but the test is not enough. Warn your doctor not to dismiss the patient or say “it’s in your head”. As the pandemic continues, this population is growing and they need help, so doctors need to work hard to find a cure.

Lewis: Now you are speeding up. Thank you for your participation. Our show has been edited by Jeff Del Viscio and Tulika Bose.

Fishman: Please come back in 2 weeks for the next episode of COVID.And check out SciAm.com Updated detailed COVID news.

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]