FDA Delays Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine for Adolescents to Review Rare Myocarditis Side Effect

Agency holds off decision on expanding use of shot to 12-to-17-year-olds while it looks into risk of rare heart condition.

  I’m a Pediatrician. Get Your Child Vaccinated

Kids 12 and up no longer need to get sick with the coronavirus.

 Doctors Are Puzzled by Heart Inflammation in the Young and Vaccinated

Weighing the balance of risks is a shade more challenging when it affects the youngest among us.

 Kids, the Delta Variant and Vaccines: What to Know as Schools Reopen

Doctors say the benefits to children of getting vaccinated outweigh the risks, even considering their low risk of developing severe Covid-19. Children contracting Covid-19 would be much more likely to go to the hospital than those who had vaccine-related complications

 Some Adolescents Aren’t Getting Vaccinated, as Wary Parents Weigh Risks

Some parents, including those who have been vaccinated themselves, hold off on getting their children immunized, citing safety concerns.

 When Parents Said No to Their Kids Being Vaccinated, This Teenager Created VaxTeen. It's Now More Crucial Than Ever

“There are so many teenagers who are unvaccinated. There are so many adults,” Danielpour tells TIME. Danielpour founded VaxTeen last year to help young people access vaccines and learn about their options if their parents don’t want them to get vaccinated. “A vaccine is a collective health measure. We all have to take part for it to be truly effective.”

COVID Vaccines In Teens And Myocarditis: What You Need To Know

Naturally occurring heart inflammation is rare, but it does occur from time to time in teens and young adults. The rate seen after these vaccines is slightly higher than the "background" rate.

Kids age 12 to 15 can now get vaccinated in the US

“Having a vaccine authorized for a younger population is a critical step in continuing to lessen the immense public health burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in the FDA statement.

Let’s hold off vaccinating children and teens against COVID-19. Prioritising adults is our best shot for now

Eighteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries that have achieved high vaccination coverage in adults have started vaccinating adolescents aged 12-15. Drivers to vaccinate children and adolescents include building confidence to open schools, preventing severe disease, and reducing transmission in all ages to achieve “herd immunity”. But in most countries, including Australia, vaccination of the highest-risk groups is not nearly complete. So does it make sense to vaccinate children and adolescents at this stage?

Officials note ‘likely association’ between Covid-19 vaccines and rare heart condition in young people

The evidence presented Wednesday echoes what other experts and health officials in other countries have identified: that younger groups, particularly men under 30, have higher rates of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining around the heart) following vaccination with the shots from Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech. Most cases have occurred soon after the second shot of the two-dose regimens.

Shall we vaccinate our children? We could start by asking them first

As for healthy teenagers, let’s first use our vaccine supplies to raise adult vaccination levels as high as possible, provide boosters for the elderly and fulfil our promises to provide vaccines for poorer countries. Then, we should vaccinate healthy teenagers once we have adequate safety data – but for this we must wait.

The Flimsy Evidence Behind the CDC’s Push to Vaccinate Children

The agency overcounts Covid hospitalizations and deaths and won’t consider if one shot is sufficient.

To Vaccinate Younger Teens, States and Cities Look to Schools, Camps, Even Beaches

The F.D.A.’s authorization of Pfizer’s Covid shot for 12- to 15-year-olds is a milestone in battling the coronavirus, but actually getting them vaccinated involves new challenges.

What You Need To Know About Pfizer's COVID Vaccine And Adolescents

The ability to get vaccinated is crucial for this group, Dr. Nia Heard-Garris, a pediatrician and researcher at Northwestern University's School of Medicine, tells NPR. "It promotes the potential to gather and socialize and continue on — which is just as important for children as for adults."

When will teens and kids be able to get the Covid-19 vaccines?

It may still be a while. Here’s what parents can do in the meantime while their kids aren’t vaccinated and others are.