YOU’RE
VACCINATED JUANMONINO/E+/GETTY IMAGES PLUS
26 Washington FAMILY JUNE 2021



S
ince the COVID-19 vaccine rollout began in
December, health experts have touted the shots
as a pathway back to normal life.

While it will take months for the United States
to reach herd immunity, many fully vaccinated
adults are dining indoors, gathering with friends and
making plans to travel again.

For parents with children
under 16, however, it’s more
complicated. While most
children between the ages of
12 and 15 are now eligible to
get the shot, many parents will
be hesitant to let their kids get
vaccinated before the long-
term effects are established.

Doubtless those concerns will
be even greater for parents
of younger children, and the
vaccine isn’t expected to be
approved for the 2-through-11 age group until fall
at the earliest. Until the entire family is vaccinated,
parents must decide what levels of risk they are
willing to take when it comes to making plans.

“The question is, where do we qualify children
in terms of risk?” said Dr. Neil Rellosa, a pediatric
infectious disease physician at Nemours duPont
Pediatrics. “We know that children overall are at a
lower risk of developing severe disease, but it doesn’t
mean they don’t get infected.”
Most children who are infected have mild or
asymptomatic cases. However, Rellosa has treated
some young patients who develop multisystem
inflammatory syndrome, a serious condition that
results in the inflammation of organs and other body
parts, which has been linked to COVID-19 infections.

Dr. Aimee Ando, family medicine physician and
director of diversity, equity and inclusion at Penn
Medicine, said coronavirus cases among children
are rising even as the percentage of vaccinated
adults increases.

There could be many reasons behind this spike,
including schools reopening for in-person learning,
the relaxation of social distancing regulations in some
areas, the spread of highly contagious variants and
better access to testing.

Dr. Susan Coffin, pediatric disease specialist at
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said families with
unvaccinated children should
continue to exercise caution
when socializing with other
households. Indoor playdates
and large family gatherings
are still not recommended.

“Unfortunately, when we’re
thinking about people gath-
ering who are unvaccinated,
the same principles still need
to hold in terms of keeping
your gathering sizes small,
keeping them outside, keep-
ing participants masked and having a more consistent
small cohort that you get together with rather than a
different playmate every day of the week,” said Coffin,
who also co-leads CHOP’s coronavirus response.

Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention say vaccinated individuals can gather
inside sans masks and social distancing with other
people who are fully vaccinated. But the CDC also
notes that vaccinated individuals can gather indoors
with unvaccinated people who are not at increased
risk of severe infection from one household at a time.

In other words, according to Ando, a family in which
all eligible members are vaccinated and the children
are unvaccinated can be inside with a similarly
vaccinated family — though she recommends keeping
these visits limited.

She added that it’s important to maintain open and
honest communication about safety with friends and
family when planning in-person interactions. This
includes discussing vaccination status, recent travel
and if you are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms.

but your
kids aren’t.

now what?
BY SOPHIE panzer
WashingtonFAMILY.com 27