[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

I think the WHO is correct. We should be vaccinating all high-risk people regardless of nation first. That's complicated by the lack of reliable data in some places, but I mean simply to the degree that it's practical to do so. A small benefit to someone here is not as important as a large benefit to someone elsewhere.

Its more like a very large benefit to a smaller group of people here (is or is not) as important as a very large benefit to a much larger group elsewhere.

Kids still do get sick, kids still do die, kids still have to deal with complications etc.

The question I think you are drawing is US kids worth that much more than adults and kids from less fortunate countries? It is from your relative point of view but as a US President, yeah it should be.

Children Now Account For 22% Of New U.S. COVID Cases. Why Is That? : Coronavirus Updates : NPR

Now, the part where that conversation about severity gets a little bit more complicated is yes, it is absolutely true that it's less severe in kids than it is in adults, and particularly older adults. But it's also not true to say that it's completely benign in kids. Fortunately, pediatric death is a fairly rare event. But when you look at the top 10 causes of death, on an annual basis, this year, we've had, depending on whose numbers you use, somewhere between 300 and 600 pediatric deaths from COVID-19 so far. That's probably an undercount. And that would fit it somewhere in the top 10, somewhere between like No. 6 and No. 9 in terms of causes of death for children.

So the point I'm making, there is that yes, it's less severe, but it's still potentially a very severe disease. We've seen tens of thousands of hospitalizations already. So we do need a vaccine for children, not just to protect, not just to achieve herd immunity, but also to protect the children themselves.

In kids, we have seen it, but it doesn't seem to be as common as adults. We're taking care of a few kids now who are still having symptoms well over a month past their infections. I think, as little as we know about long COVID in adults, we know even less in kids. We really have even less of an understanding of the overall epidemiology of how common it is in kids.

The other question mark in my mind around this phenomenon is, many viruses can trigger sort of longer-term symptoms. A classic example would be mononucleosis: Some kids will have fatigue and symptoms for six to 12 months, occasionally even longer.