There are still many questions to be answered about how to keep kids safe.
Cindy Ord is a photographer.
There is understandable anxiety among parents with kids under 5 who can't yet get a vaccine.
They're wondering how to navigate life with young children, what this means for travel plans and daycare, and when the vaccine will become available.
A doctor at Duke University says her hospital has seen a rise in children being admitted.
More children in the hospital are unvaccinated. She said that younger children who are not eligible for vaccine end up in the hospital with Covid.
We asked parents of kids under 5 to send us their questions as the world enters its third year of the Pandemic. Dr. Kalu answers them here.
The answers and questions have been edited.
Alex McCarty has two children, a daughter and a son.
What do we know about the risk of the omicron variant to children? Does it seem to be more dangerous than previous versions, or is it the same?
Omicron is milder in children and adults. Omicron is milder than Delta in the context of dealing with it recently. It can cause significant symptoms in a small group of children, not across the board, but a small subset that can end up in the hospital with more severe symptoms.
COVID is worse than flu in kids because it causes the initial infections and then tracks through the body and causes syndromes. We are seeing the flu in our community. COVID is ahead of that across the board.
If we see more cases, we will likely see a higher number of kids in the hospital.
The children are at the temperature check.
Christopher Furlong is a photographer.
A: I have a toddler in daycare that isn't eligible for COVID vaccine, but we have had several program closings due to exposure to COVID cases in the classroom in the fall semester. I'm wondering if there are any studies done on the test-to-stay protocols for kids under the age of five.
We don't know enough about test-to-stay. The reason is simple: the test-to-stay studies were impacted by the policies that took a lot of kids out of in-person learning. It's important to understand the context for the data to be used in the daycare setting. Younger kids may have a different ability to comply with frequent testing. I'm encouraged by the data. We can continue to promote in-person education for those that find it helpful and can do it through multiple surges in the community, as it showed that we've seen lower transmission within school settings where universal masking exists.
Ryan McGhie has a son.
A: We were going to Hawaii to work with our son on mask wearing. Even though he wears his mask reliably, we have concerns with this new variant. Is it safe to take a five hour flight with an unvaccinated toddler? How safe is it to go to the beach after we get to our hotel? Should we encourage masks to be worn while playing in the water?
Since we've seen such high rates of community spread, it may be advisable to defer travel. Push it out a few weeks if you can do it. If you're already on the way there, encouraging masking will be great. The 2-year-olds may struggle a bit. Ensure that everyone in your party is up to date on their vaccinations and have received a booster shot if they are eligible for vaccines. It is finally outdoors that is better. The outdoor setting has a lower incidence of the virus that causes COVID. You should play outdoors as much as you can. I wouldn't expect a mask to work when you're submerged in water.
Many parents are considering travel plans for the holidays.
Charly Triballeau is a member of the Agence France-Presse.
I'm worried that when the vaccine is approved for her age group, it won't be enough to protect her from the omicron and other variant that keep popping up. Can we expect her to resume her normal life once she's been shot? Should we be waiting for a booster?
I'm pretty sure you can resume normal life once she's been shot. It may depend on what "normal" means. A 15-month-old won't be able to wear a mask. If you keep it outdoors and ensure that others are up to date with their vaccinations, you can likely resume some level of play or interaction with others. You can resume normal life if she is vaccine free. You can start to do some things today.
The 2-year-old daughter of the Marriotts is from Erie, MI.
With the top symptoms for the most recent variant being cold-like symptoms, should we be concerned about testing our child when they are in a daycare setting? She has a cold one to two times a month. If her symptoms are mild, are we taking away resources from higher-need populations?
I hope that parents who are looking for tests for their children are not taking away resources from people who are also sick. If the daycare is having a cluster of cases, or just a few kids that are symptom free, it would be helpful to have the child tested to see if they have chronic bronchitis. We're in the middle of the respiratory viral season, which means that our kids in daycare don't need to be tested every time they get sick, and that they could get a different viral infection every month. If you have access to tests and you have a child with new symptoms, it might be worth testing them for COVID.
COVID has disrupted everything from daycare to school.
Christof Stache is pictured.
The Pfizer vaccine trial for children under five failed.
The trial was conducted to make sure that the vaccine works in children younger than five and that it is safe. The dose that was chosen didn't mean a high enough protective response. They decided to go back and adjust the dose to make sure that when they have a viable vaccine option, the dose that's authorized will likely lead to a protective response in kids. I didn't see it as a failure. I think this is a good process for getting a vaccine that is safe and effective, although it does extend the timelines a bit, and it still doesn't have a viable option for our youngest kids, as we're dealing with the omicron surge.
McCaslin is from Seattle, Washington and has a 6-month-old son.
How much research has been done for the babies who were in the uterus when the vaccine was given, or the babies who were breastfeeding when the vaccine was given? Since they can't bevaccinated themselves and can't wear a mask, how are they protected?
The CDC has summarized some of the more recent research, and I will refer to the data they've shared publicly as the source of information that may be helpful here, but there are also multiple published studies from 2021. When they looked at mothers who had babies recently, they saw that those who were vaccine free were able to pass on the protection against the disease to the baby. It was both in the blood and within the mouth and nose, so it was passed in a way that it could be seen by the babies. This is huge. This is great. Babies have a layer of protection since they can't protect themselves. Some of the people who were infections passed some of their immune system's work, but it was less than those who were vaccine recipients. I think vaccines are safe and effective in pregnant women, and they were able to pass it on, which is very helpful.
