JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s spring and a lot of families are hoping to enjoy the warmer weather after more than a year in quarantine because of the pandemic.
With more and more adults being vaccinated, children are still not allowed to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, so what should families do?
“My recommendation overall is doing things outdoors as much as possible,” said Dr. Mohammed Reza, an infectious disease specialist in Jacksonville. “As a parent, when we go on vacation, we go in our car, our own immediate family, we travel together and things we have done are outdoors. The reality is these vaccines are effective, even in adults, it’s very effective; but children since children are not vaccinated, the effectiveness is not there. The other important point with children is if your child has underlying medical conditions that could have a bad outcome, with this viral infection, you have to be more cautious.”
Reza said each family has to decide what they’re comfortable doing.
“Since children have not been vaccinated, that is the concern we have,” he said. “Children less than 10 might be asymptomatic with this infection, if they do have an infection, but there have been reported more than 200 cases of death when you look at ages 0 to 18 years old across the country.”
As for folks who have been vaccinated, should they be tested?
“The CDC guidance has said for them not to get tested at this point, so that is not recommended because the likelihood of having the infection is so low, but if they are symptomatic, older than 65, have underlying medical conditions, then it is recommended,” Reza said.
Reza reminds people remaining socially distant and wearing a mask is still recommended as we move toward herd immunity.
“The more people we get vaccinated, the safer we are as a community, as a country and as a world,” Reza said.
This is the CDC’s “Know your travel risk” page dedicated to vacation activities and their risk.