Metro area schools have been open for nearly two months and the country saw COVID-19 cases among children rise.
Parents of children 5 to 11 are wondering how far away an authorized vaccine is, while those with kids under 5 know that whatever that date, they most likely will be waiting longer.
The good news for parents, says pediatrician Dr. Natasha Burgert, is that day seems to be nearing.
"I think kids will be able to start to get COVID vaccines into their arms before Thanksgiving," she says. "The FDA is taking a particularly large amount of time with this. We want to be incredibly careful and very meticulous with this discussion."
While previous strains of COVID-19 had a significantly lower impact on children than on adults, the delta variant poses more of a threat to young people who contract the virus.
However, Burgert explains things are certainly trending in the right direction.
"Kansas City is in a much better place than we were a few weeks ago, quite honestly. I think delta is coming down, our rates are coming down, our positivity rates in the clinics are coming down."
She joins Up To Date with the latest on COVID-19 in relation to children and answers listener's questions.
- Natasha Burgert, M.D., pediatrician, Pediatric Associates
