Omicron cases are levelling off and even going down in some areas. Pediatricians say this surge has been especially hard on children and there may be relief soon for those under 5.
Pediatrician Dr. Julie Kim said recently, children have been hit hard by omicron.
“I’ve seen a good number of babies who got COVID-19, newborns,” she said.
Kim added that she has seen more COVID-19 cases in the past three weeks than any other point in the pandemic.
“For the little kids who haven’t been vaccinated, omicron definitely is giving them many days of high fever,” she said.
But help for children under 5 may be on the way.
Earlier Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he hopes the FDA could approve the Pfizer vaccine for 2 to 4-year-olds within the next month.
Local
Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, the principal investigator in the Pfizer vaccine clinical trial at Stanford said that those kids would likely need three doses.
“It is possible that we could have enough data for the FDA to approve it sometime in February or March, so that is a reasonable estimate,” she said.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Maldonado also explained why children may need three doses – which she said is normal in other vaccines.
“The vaccine trials that have been done so far, in the under 5-year-old children have demonstrated strong safety, but just not the degree of antibody response especially in 2 to 4-year-olds. So, it’s hopeful that a third dose in under five-year-olds will provide a strong antibody response,” she said.
Kim said when it’s approved, her patients will be lining up.
“A lot of our parents with the little kids. They’re all anxiously waiting,” she said.
