About this episode
On Wednesday, independent advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended the agency authorize coronavirus vaccines for children under 5. What this move means for families and how it will affect where we are in the pandemic. Read more: It’s finally happening: The Food and Drug Administration seems poised to sign off on coronavirus vaccines for children younger than 5 years old. Parents are celebrating the news after waiting for approval for almost a year and a half. But why did it take so much longer for this, while adults have already had vaccines for over a year? And what does this development mean for our fight against the pandemic? Anita Patel, a critical care pediatrician at Children’s National Hospital in D.C., on why this vaccine was so delayed and how they’re developed for children, and Patel gives advice for parents who might be concerned about the vaccine.