The New Normal: What do families need to know about a variant that seems to be affecting pockets of younger people?

Dr. Mundeep Kainth, a pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist at Cohen Children's Medical Center, says the variant is highly transmissible.

News 12 Staff

Apr 7, 2021, 1:06 AM

Updated 1,338 days ago

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The New Normal: What do families need to know about a variant that seems to be affecting pockets of younger people?
President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that vaccine eligibility will be expanded to all Americans ages 18+ on April 19, weeks ahead of his May 1 deadline.
Now, some colleges and universities are mandating that students get vaccinated in order to return in the fall. Manhattanville College, Rutgers University and Cornell are just some of the colleges implementing the mandate.
This has sparked some debate with many people divided over the mandate. Dr. Bruce Polsky, of NYU Long Island School of Medicine, says he thinks college's mandating vaccines will be a trend but would like to see more people voluntarily get the shot. He says if a mandate is the best way to keep campus' safe then it must be done.
Plus - a new COVID-19 variant is said to be affecting pockets of young people across the U.S. Dr. Mundeep Kainth, a pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist at Cohen Children's Medical Center, says the variant is highly transmissible.
Kainth says experts are keeping an eye on it but there have been more hospitalizations among kids, which is concerning.
The former FDA commissioner says the U.S. will see a "tsunami of deaths." Dr. Polsky says he thinks tsunami is a strong word but does think there will be more cases of long haulers in the future.
A new study by the New England Journal of Medicine shows that some variants have some resistance to COVID-19 vaccines. Dr. Polsky says, "We should be concerned about the current variants." However, he points out that the vaccines do provide some protection.
Pfizer say its shot is 100% effective among children ages 12-15. Dr. Kainth hopes that by summer there will be emergency authorization to begin administering vaccines to kids that age ahead of the new school year.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says there is more spread among kids playing sports. Dr. Kainth says kids should wash their hands, wear masks, and try to play sports outside.