1. Inform kids about the importance of fear and how it keeps them safe. Inform them that fear is a normal reaction to perceived danger and that it can aid them in making wise decisions.

2. You can convey the concept of dread using age-appropriate novels, films, or articles, for instance. For instance, Todd Parr’s “The Emotions Book” offers a vivid and interesting introduction to several emotions, including dread.

3. Promote free communication by creating a secure setting where kids can voice their anxieties without fear of repercussion. Pay close attention to their worries, and then reassure and support them.

4. Take the fear of the dark as an illustration. When your child shares this worry, listen to their worries and talk about ways to deal with it. Parenting for Brain and other websites provide guidance on how to foster open communication with kids.

5. Healthy examples of how to handle fear are best illustrated by handling your own fears and worries in a calm manner. In this way, you can show others how to respond to fear appropriately. This encourages kids to follow your lead and learn positive coping skills. Unfortunately, many adults fail to see the effect they have on kids. I know someone who learned to fear even ladybugs because her mother became so upset at seeing one.

6. Take one thing that many people fear, such as spiders or other bugs. If you’re frightened of spiders, you should gently remove the spider or call for help rather than freaking out. This demonstrates to kids that worries can be addressed without having to take drastic measures.

7. Exposing children to their concerns in a controlled way while utilizing age-appropriate techniques is known as “gradual exposure.” This method of systematic desensitization aids in children’s resilience development and helps them get over unreasonable anxieties. A parent I know took his young son to a pet park, where the boy learned that even large snakes (such as a yellow python) can be harmless. They took photos with the snake to have at home as a reminder that some snakes are harmless, and others need to be avoided.

If a youngster is afraid of dogs, start by showing them photographs of dogs, then go on to movies of dogs, and lastly, expose them to a nice, calm dog in a safe environment. This is a well-known behavioral technique used in therapy for dog phobia. A young boy, who received a pet mouse, grew to love the little creature so much that he became a veterinarian when he reached adulthood.

8. Teach relaxation skills to assist children in learning how to handle their anxiety and terror. Exercises that involve deep breathing, visualization, and progressive muscle relaxation can all help reduce anxiety.

Another website that is useful and contains helpful exercises for kids is “Calm Kids”, which provides children with guided breathing exercises and mindfulness exercises that are age-appropriate.

9. Encourage a positive outlook by helping kids avoid concentrating on their worries by encouraging them to focus on the positive aspects of their experiences. Encourage them to adopt a growth attitude by stressing that failures and errors are opportunities to improve.

For instance, if a youngster is fearful of failing, acknowledge their effort and perseverance in overcoming difficulties, reinforcing the notion that failures are a normal part of learning.

10. Create a welcoming social atmosphere to provide children with friends and classmates who react to fear in a healthy way as positive role models. Promote relationships that foster empathy, teamwork, and emotional health.

A sports team or a volunteer organization are two examples of groups or activities that expose kids to positive social settings and promote collaboration and teamwork. And, remember, that teamwork later in their adulthood will be useful in whatever work or creative activities in which they engage. Teams are valuable in this way.

Last, of all, keep in mind that every child is different, so it’s crucial to adapt these strategies to each one’s specific demands and phases of development. You may support children’s resilience and mental well-being by encouraging appropriate fear reactions and avoiding modeling phobias.

The post Raising Children With Appropriate Fear Responses, Not Modeling Phobias appeared first on Medika Life.

“Children significantly preferred food products packaged in red. This is in line with our hypothesis that red exerts greater attraction than green for children when associated with food because, as in previous literature, food items with a red-packaged color are presumably associated with more pleasant tastes.” In fact, color has been found to have a profound, assumed, bias regarding the taste of that item.

These marketing techniques aim to seize their interest, arouse favorable feelings, and ultimately influence consumers to make unhealthy food selections.

Food marketers use vivid and eye-catching images to grab kids’ attention. A child’s interest can be captured right away through appealing branding, colorful packaging, and appealing food imagery. The products appear more appealing and desirable thanks to these exciting images, especially when one item is included with favored characters.

Marketers frequently link their food goods to beloved characters from well-liked children’s cartoons, movies, or TV series. Food corporations build an emotional connection with kids by using these characters on the packaging, in ads, and in promotional efforts. Children are encouraged to choose these products because of their association with their favorite characters.

Food manufacturers may pay additional fees to have their products intentionally arranged on store shelves at eye level so that kids can easily reach and see them. Also, they purposefully place unhealthy goods on end displays or specific types of materials close to checkouts, where kids are more likely to ask for them. These strategies are designed to entice parents and kids to make impulsive purchases. Have you ever seen a child holding an item and begging the parent to buy it while the parent insists that it’s not a good choice?

Commercials have a significant impact on kids’ eating preferences. The catchy jingles, entertaining animations, and intriguing stories featured in advertisements frequently capture children’s attention. These commercials make unhealthy food products seem irresistible by emphasizing the flavor, thrill, and delight they offer.

Research on the subject is revealing. “Research examining the effects of television food advertising on children has shown that children exposed to advertisements prefer branded foods at much greater rates than children not similarly exposed. Television advertising impacts food consumption and eating behaviors as well.” The push, as has been shown, is toward choices that are heavily advertised but not equally heavy in nutrition.

Incentives and promotions also draw kids to products. Toys, games, competitions, and tie-ins with well-known films or franchises are a few examples of these.

There is also the issue of peer pressure to want certain food products that their friends have, and here we have more stress to make poor choices. Remember, these are children without sufficient control over peer pressure. If other kids have them, they want to be included in the group and not seen as modern pariahs.

What is the solution to this constant barrage of advertisements for poor food choices by children? Parents need to have candid discussions with their kids about advertising and equip them to make better dietary decisions about healthy food options by fostering media literacy skills in children and teaching them to think critically.

Enticing images, character branding, product placement, engaging advertisements, incentives, and promotions in marketing have a significant impact on children’s eating preferences. Children are continually exposed to persuasive messages beyond traditional platforms. If we want children to develop into healthy adults, we need to give them the skills to make healthy choices, no matter the color, placement, or characters in ads.

The post Clever Choice of Colors Draws Children Into Poor Food Choices appeared first on Medika Life.

Women were left for months as men went on scouting or hunting jaunts, but the mental anguish of those in the cabins hasn’t, to my mind, been adequately documented. They did, however, come up with a word for this overwhelming psychological pain, cabin fever. Relinquishing it to only the snow-bound or isolated areas is a naive premise as we now see it in a new context, major cities.

“The COVID‐19 pandemic and prolonged confinement and isolation during lockdown measures have had a deleterious impact on the mental health of children and young people. During this last year, the social contexts for children and young people have been markedly different from what they will have experienced before. Indeed, they have been living through ‘the greatest confinement in history.’ Children and young people have been subject to disrupted education at school, college, and university, as well as hampered transition into training or the workforce for the first time.”

Apparently, cabin fever has infected the young and adults, and this is where it may do its most damage in the future. Having committed no crime and often with fluctuating rules for safety from infection, children and adults are subjected to periods of isolation and disruption of what we have come to know as our “normal” lives.

Today, normal is in flux and what the future holds is equally troubling in its uncertainty. This uncertainty aspect fuels the disturbing instances of stress-related behaviors we are seeing reported in homes, work settings, and even violence in transportation on planes and buses.

Matters are made that much worse when we are receiving conflicting messages from our health authorities about virus protection and masks, the need for isolation and lockdowns, and how long these imposed periods of segregation must last.

Anthropologists have established our need for community, free access to socialization, and the interactions that bring bonding and security. But this social aspect of our lives is at risk, and we are currently fighting against millennia of genetics. No matter how creative we may think we have become in substituting technology for human interaction, I doubt we have accomplished our goals.

Do we still, intrinsically, unconsciously crave the warmth of human skin, the smell of someone’s hair, the touch of fabric, or the beauty of the natural voice? Some have said we are victims of touch starvation, which is an apt way to describe our current state. It is exactly what we find in cabin fever.

The computer screen or cell facetime are pale substitutions for our human needs. It’s like trying to substitute water for cream in a recipe; it doesn’t work. Yes, it may seem like the thread of human need is being maintained, but is it really? Are we trying to evolve into something akin to the robots about which corporate America crows so much? How much are we losing in this process? Only time will tell.

What is the reason for the dramatic, expressed need for mental health services for our children at school or home? The need is more than urgent, as the CEO of the APA expressed it. “Children and adolescents have been especially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, experiencing higher rates of stress, anxiety, and fear. Social isolation, financial uncertainty, and disrupted routines place considerable stress on children and their families.”

I wonder if the extraordinary success of fantasy films worldwide is a means to quell the fear of children and adults alike; the hero always wins in the end. Obviously, it’s not wise to go to movie theaters, but many are now streamed.

Is this our modern-day version of Little Red Riding Hood, who manages to deceive the wolf or Hansel & Gretel in the witch’s clutches? Obviously, the wolf and the witch are metaphors for the current virus and the question of a safe world, as are the superheroes.

We are frantically seeking ways to soothe ourselves. Is it any wonder that people are scoffing at wearing masks and violating restrictions on going to social events? The need is so strong, and the time during which we have been denied seems to linger on.

How much longer can we tolerate it and maintain our sanity, or is a new vaccine the answer? Whatever it is, we are suffering in ways we will only realize in decades to come. No, I’m not a doomsday prognosticator. I think I’m being pragmatic.

The post Cabin Fever Ravages Us as It Makes Itself Known Again Everywhere appeared first on Medika Life.

We have all been there. We have watched our favorite team score enough to have a comfortable lead going into the final minutes of play. We may have even contemplated leaving early to avoid a congested parking lot or highway home. 

Then, before you realize it, key members of your team make bonehead errors or underestimate their opponents. Now, with the outcome not as straightforward as it once was, we resort to biting our nails, covering our eyes, or rubbing our superstitious lucky charm a time or two.

Such is the case with this current stage of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the late Spring and early Summer, cases were low compared to the prior six months. Vaccines from multiple manufacturers were readily available. Federal and state vaccine mega-sites gave way to community physician offices along with franchise and so-called mom-and-pop pharmacies as outlets for immunizations.

Hospitalizations, emergency room and urgent care visits, and even death rates due to COVID were trending down. Restaurants, hotels, and airlines took advantage of the new demand for travel and leisure activity. Life appeared to look normal again, and unfortunately, the public interest in COVID-19 vaccinations — the primary tool in our arsenal against this awful illness — waned.

Unfortunately, the result is that the landscape we face with COVID-19 in the late Summer and Fall is entirely different from the Spring, thanks to the Delta variant.

According to the CDC, the current average number of new coronavirus cases during the last seven days is just above 140,000. Contrast this with an average of less than 9,000 new cases during the fourth week of June.

The total number of individuals hospitalized due to COVID-19 has also spiked to about 90,000 as of the writing of this article.

It was once viewed as a silver lining that children generally speaking experienced less severe disease than adults. Generally, this holds true as the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that of all the children who are infected with COVID-19, less than 2% become sick enough to need hospitalization. Still, 1,900 children were hospitalized due to COVID-19 in mid-August.

At the end of June, that figure was just over 400. The availability of pediatric ICU beds, particularly in the southern states, has become severely limited. We are running out of beds.

High census rates in pediatric wards have challenged hospital systems making finding available beds for even non-COVID pediatric patients difficult. This negatively affects the quality of care for children seeking treatment for asthma, pneumonia, and even severe ailments like seizures. Even more tragically, 400 children have died directly due to COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

No matter what part of the country or even the world you are in, the thought of severely sick children can cause nail-biting and overall queasiness in even the most stalwart individuals. The following offers up some answers to some frequently asked questions that parents, school officials, and coaches will wrestle with during the back-to-school season.

What is the best way to prevent my child from getting infected with COVID-19?

If your child is 12 years of age or older, the single best prevention mechanism is the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination. Just as it has in the adult population, the Pfizer vaccine has achieved remarkable efficacy against infection.

In children aged 12–15, the vaccine has been shown to prevent infection 100% of the time compared to controlled groups of the same age bracket.

No vaccine is perfect, but vaccination can prevent severe illness requiring hospitalization, ventilator support, and emergency room visits. That can potentially lead to death can be averted even with a breakthrough infection. The mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) also perform excellently against the Delta variant, though the Moderna vaccine is currently approved only for those 18 years of age and older.

The other critical motivating factor for vaccinating this population is that while the jury is still out on the ability of young children under age 10 to transmit the disease to others, adolescents seem to be able to transmit the disease nearly as effectively as adults.

The bottom line is that the more people vaccinated — parents, teachers, students, school officials, etc. — the more likely we can reduce community spread and eliminate further variants.

What are the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines?

The side effects are similar to those in the adult population. They include pain at the injection site, fever, fatigue, chills, headache, and muscle aches. These side effects usually resolve within 48 hours.

On a much rarer note, there have been some cases of inflammatory conditions affecting the heart. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle, while pericarditis is defined as inflammation of the lining around the heart.

There have been over 2 million COVID-19 vaccines administered to children aged 12–17. There have been 19 cases of heart inflammation. This amounts to nearly 9 cases per million COVID-19 doses.

Boys have been affected more than girls, and the symptoms usually occur within a week after the second dose. Myocarditis at much higher rates than this occurs in people who have been infected with COVID-19 in both pediatric and adult populations.

The Pfizer vaccine has undergone rigorous safety protocols and has been granted Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA. The New England Journal of Medicine describes a vaccine trial involving nearly 40,000 people.

The vaccines are generally safe, but like most medications and immunizations, a small percentage of the population may be allergic to one or more vaccine components. If an individual develops an allergic reaction to the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, he/she should avoid a second dose.

Can the COVID-19 vaccine give my child COVID-19 disease? 

The COVID-19 vaccine is not a live vaccine. While it may give you some temporary body aches and fever, as described above, active coronavirus disease is not one of its side effects.

Will the COVID-19 vaccine interfere with other vaccines that my child may be due to receive like the flu shot? Should I stagger the other adolescent vaccines my child should be due for? Which is more important?

All vaccines are important. When the COVID-19 vaccine first became available it was recommended to have an interval of time between it and other common vaccines like the influenza vaccine. As we have had more time to study the vaccine and how it interacts with patients and impacts their health, that recommendation has been lifted.

There is no longer a waiting period between COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines.

You or your child can be immunized against COVID-19 and other diseases even on the same day. This is consistent with other traditional vaccines that your child receives. At 2, 4, and 6 months as many as six vaccines are given simultaneously.

Can the COVID-19 vaccine cause infertility either now or in the future? According to the CDC, there is no evidencethat the COVID-19 vaccine causes reproductive problems in either males or females.

Can pregnant women or breastfeeding women receive COVID-19 vaccines?

As more and more data has emerged, the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant and breastfeeding women have become more apparent.

Research data has shown no increased risk of miscarriages in pregnant women. By contrast, pregnant women, especially those early in their first trimester, are at increased risk for severe illness if they get infected with COVID-19. Getting vaccinated can help reduce the risk of severe infection in this population.

Also, antibodies to the disease have been noted in the blood of infants born to mothers who have received the COVID-19 vaccine. These antibodies, which can also be passed on to infants through breastmilk may afford some protection to these young, vulnerable babies.

Can patients under 12 receive the vaccine if my healthcare provider orders it?

This would be considered an ‘off-label’ use of the vaccine at this point in time. Children younger than 12 may need a smaller dose than that currently given to adolescents and adults. 

For this reason, the FDA and American Academy of Pediatrics discourage giving the vaccine to children younger than age 12. The situation is fluid, though, and more data is emerging every day. There could be announcements concerning the COVID-19 vaccine for younger children emerging as we venture into the Fall.

Will my child need a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine like the adults get 8 months after the second dose?

As of now, no booster dosages of COVID-19 vaccines are required after the second shot in adolescents younger than 18 years of age.

What can I do for my child less than 12 years of age?

The next best way to prevent COVID-19 infection in children is to employ the uses of masks or facial coverings in children two years of age or older.

Teachers, staff, coaches, and visitors should also wear masks while indoors. Until we have better control of the infection rate, both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals should wear face masks while indoors. The vaccines are remarkable in preventing severe illness and hospitalizations, but breakthrough infections can occur.

More importantly, data appears to show that while vaccinated individuals are largely free from high morbidity, they can, in fact, spread the virus to those around them. Encouraging children to wear masks while indoors would go a long way toward preventing infection.

Remember that transportation mechanisms like school buses, public transit, and even carpool vehicles also count as indoor venues. Masks should be worn in any vehicle that carries people from multiple households.

Wearing masks outdoors is much less crucial. The risk of transmitting the virus is greatly decreased in outdoor settings. Participants at outdoor events with large crowds may need to use masks if they are particularly congested.

Can my child participate in sports during the pandemic?

Physical education and scholastic sports are important to the overall health of children. They contribute to their overall physical fitness. They also provide social interaction, which contributes positively to their emotional well-being.

However, like in other scenarios, children who play indoor sports in closer contact with each other for a longer period of time are at increased risk of contracting COVID-19.

Hence, those who play basketball, wrestling, and hockey have been shown to have higher transmission rates than children who play soccer, football, and rugby outdoors.

Mask wearing can help in reducing the transmission of the virus while playing sports. Studies have shown that mask-wearing in general during physical activity is well tolerated.

There are sports, however, where mask-wearing is contraindicated. These include gymnastics, cheerleading that involves tumbling, and wrestling. It may be difficult to employ the use of masks in sports in which the athlete sweats fairly profusely. Also, masks would not be useable while swimming or doing water sports. Spectators, coaches, trainers, and staff should also wear masks and participants on the sidelines.

Masks should also be worn in locker rooms and other areas, including travel buses where athletes gather in groups. It is also important for children not to share water bottles.

What should I do if my child tests positive for COVID-19?

Parents of children who test positive for COVID-19 should notify their pediatric primary care provider fairly urgently. Children without any symptoms or with mild symptoms warrant a phone call to their medical home or a telemedicine visit. This helps to document the history of COVID-19 infection in the child’s medical record and assists in educating parents about the quarantine period and the reasons to notify the office should symptoms worsen.

Children with moderate symptoms with persisting fevers should be examined in the office by their pediatric provider. The quarantine period varies as children will manifest COVID signs differently.

Generally, though it may be challenging to ascertain the exact day of origin of infection, 14 days is considered the acceptable quarantine time for most.

If a child has no symptoms at all, they may be able to return to school ten days after the first positive test. Those children with more symptoms, especially with syncope, chest pain, and shortness of breath, may not only need to quarantine longer but also cardiology evaluation or at the very least an electrocardiogram (ECG).

What else can be done to prevent the spread of this disease?

The infection control principles that have been widely employed before the pandemic still hold true today. Frequent handwashing with soap and water or hand sanitizers containing at least 60% ethyl alcohol is still vital in reducing transmission.

We have learned after a year and a half of experience with COVID-19 that respiratory droplets contribute to spread of the disease much more than the virus on hard surfaces. Still, it is prudent to wipe down hard surfaces, especially where you work once daily.

Also, if you or your child feel sick or exhibit symptoms, there is no need to play the role of an all-star. Children who are sick should not attend school without first being tested. While the CDC does not place a preference on whether to use the rapid antigen test or the PCR, your child’s school district may.

It is important to find out which test they will accept from your school officials to avoid wasted time and misunderstandings.

Finally, as parents, you are your children’s greatest advocate. Lobbying your school officials to ensure that proper attention has been paid to employing at least 3 feet of social distancing in the classroom and investing in modern HVAC units that can promote adequate ventilation is vital.

As a nation, we have come a long way. A year ago, we all were stuck indoors with our kids trying to teach the new math using Zoom or Google. Gone are the days of strategically planning how we could score toilet paper from our local brick and mortar stores. We are definitely in the second half of this battle against COVID-19. Now more than ever, though, we must refocus our efforts to secure the win.

It is critical to understand that decisions made by segments of one population can negatively or positively affect another. It is also important to note that the virus does not respect state lines. Instead, it will continue to replicate itself — and potentially bring new variants — along the path of the least resistance i.e., the unvaccinated.

In states where COVID-19 rates are higher, like New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, pediatric hospitalizations are low (less than five pediatric admissions per 100,000). However, states like Texas, Alabama, and Georgia, where the adult vaccine rates are significantly below the national average, have pediatric admission rates that are staggering by comparison (15–30 pediatric admissions per 100,000).

We must make intelligent decisions down the stretch in the same vein as a quarterback engineering a team’s final drive. For us, that means getting a COVID-19 vaccine if you have not already.

Vaccines will go a long way toward protecting those who are unable to get vaccinated; namely our younger children. Also, wear a mask indoors whenever possible. By implementing these steps, we can leave COVID-19 behind us once and for all and feel empowered enough to stop biting our nails and raise our hands in victory. We might even be able to share a congratulatory high five.

Agboola O. Fatiregun, MD, FAAP

The post Covid-19 and its Impact on the Back-to-School Season…a True Nail-Biter appeared first on Medika Life.

I spent some time snooping the Facebook comment sections and pages sporting vaccine misunderstanding, misinformation, and myths. Here are some of the most common myths and the reasons why you shouldn’t believe them.

I GOT THE FLU VACCINE AND GOT THE FLU FROM IT!

No you didn’t. The flu vaccine does not contain the live flu virus and you cannot get the flu from it. Ever. Period. What may be happening to people is they have an immune reaction (which means the vaccine is working) to the shot and are showing minor symptoms such as redness or soreness at the injection site, fever, aches and pains. This is not the flu. It is also possible that people are literally sick with something (another virus like the common cold, perhaps) and it just so happens to coincide with the time they get a vaccine – in their minds the vaccine caused the sickness.

I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN THE VACCINE (FOR ANYTHING) AND HAVEN’T BEEN SICK.

Lucky you! Most people get sick at some point in their lives. The flu, COVID, measles, whatever it might be, you’re not only more likely to get sick without the protection from the vaccine, but you are more likely to spread it to others – like the sweet elderly gentleman across the street, or the newborn baby who hasn’t received their full vaccine schedule yet. They may not be so lucky as to never get sick.

MANY VACCINES CONTAIN CHEMICALS AND TOXIC INGREDIENTS.

This is actually kind of true, but it’s not bad. First, everything is chemicals – water is a chemical called Dihydrogen Monoxide – you are chemicals, I am chemicals, the air is a chemical. Secondly, everything is technically toxic. All chemicals (which is everything) is toxic at certain doses. So, yes, water is toxic if you drink too much. Vaccines do contain ingredients such as arsenic and formaldehyde – those are in fact toxic at the right dose. The amount of these chemicals (or any chemical) in a single dose of a vaccine isn’t enough to be toxic. A person actually eats more arsenic in an apple or more formaldehyde in a pear than they would get from a vaccine dose. Remember, when it comes to chemicals – nothing is ever “chemical-free”, and it’s not the chemical that is dangerous, it’s the dose. Trust the science and the chemists who know each chemical and at which dose it is harmful.

NATURAL IMMUNITY IS BETTER THAN A VACCINE.

No. Natural immunity to many common, dangerous illness that are typically mitigated through vaccination is not something you want. Becoming naturally immune to measles means you may have to live with infertility. Natural immunity to COVID, may mean you live with neurological or cardiovascular disadvantages the rest of your life. Natural immunity to chicken pox may mean you suffer from Shingles when you’re an adult. Natural immunity to polio may mean you no longer have the use of your legs. This natural immunity also means that while you’re sick, you’re spreading a dangerous disease to your friends, family, and community. Vaccines help you build immunity without risking life.

VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM.

I can’t believe this is still around. Millions of dollars have been spent debunking this doozy. There is unequivocally zero evidence (and hundreds of studies) that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that autism is not caused by vaccination. Unfortunately, many well-liked celebrities profited from these statements. The physician who originally made the claim no longer has a medical license.

When it comes to vaccination, leave the research to the professionals (you know, those people who have spent their whole careers studying vaccines and contagious diseases) and stay out of the comment section. If you have concerns or questions about vaccines, always reach out to a medical professional. The providers at MacArthur Medical Center Pediatrics will take time to help you understand why vaccines really are a good idea, and help you navigate common misconceptions.

Written by Erin Cox, Practice Manager at MacArthur Medical Center, reviewed by Dr. Nehal Shah.

The post Busted! Explaining Common Vaccine Myths appeared first on Medika Life.

Pfizer plans to submit these findings to the FDA and request emergency use authorization.

A Phase 3 study included 2,260 US participants. The research detected only 18 cases of Covid-19, and all were in the placebo group. None were in the study participants who received the vaccine.

Until recently, infection rates in children have been low. Children are often asymptomatic carriers but can pass the infection on to parents, teachers, and grandparents. The rise of variants such as B.1.1.7 is changing the way we view Covid-19 in children. A youth sports outbreak in Minneapolis was a wake-up call to public health experts.

February data from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association show over 3 million children have contracted Covid-19 resulting in 268 death. A disturbing breakdown of the CDC data shows that 75% of Covid-19 deaths among children of color.

The press release is available for review here.

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