Dr. Scott Gottlieb explained on Monday how he is trying to protect his three young daughters from the coronavirus, while still allowing them to visit friends before their age groups can be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Gottlieb outlined his approach in “Squawk Box,” after co-presenter Andrew Ross Sorkin asked the former FDA chief about his views on indoor play dates for children when their parents are fully vaccinated.
“I reintroduce activities with my kids, but I do it, I hope, in a cautious way, still keeping the social network somewhat defined. I’m aware of the number of people they interact with and who they interact with.” “said Gottlieb, who led the Food and Drug Administration in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. He is now on the board of Pfizer, which has approved one of three Covid vaccines for emergency use in the US.
“For example, a lot of their play dates were with kids sitting in their class,” Gottlieb said. “Why? Because that’s their social pod. They’ve already been exposed to that social pod, so we’re trying to keep the interactions within that defined pod.”
None of the vaccines used in the US have been approved for young children to date.
The Johnson & Johnson one-time vaccine and the Moderna two-dose vaccine received limited approval for people 18 years and older. In contrast, the FDA allowed the Pfizer two-step vaccine to be given to people 16 and older.
All three drug manufacturers are testing the vaccine in children, although the clinical trials are at different stages and examine different age groups.
Pfizer said on Wednesday that the vaccine was 100% effective in adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15, and Gottlieb then told CNBC that he hopes it can be FDA approved for emergency use by the fall when school resumes. for that cohort of children.
Experts say vaccinating children is necessary for the US to achieve so-called herd immunity, and that’s the point where enough people in a population have antibodies to fight the virus against vaccines or previous infections, and therefore its spread strongly Reduce.
“Children are clearly less vulnerable to the infection, but less vulnerable does not mean they are not vulnerable and we do see some children getting sick with the coronavirus,” said Gottlieb.
At this point, as more adults are getting vaccinated and are comfortable resuming activities they avoided in the pandemic before – such as traveling, eating indoors, and visiting friends and family – some are wondering how they can reduce the risk to their children must see.
“The vaccinated parents reduce the risk that the children will have the infection … because many of the infections we see in contact tracking are actually children who get infected by their parents, not children who get infected at school,” Gottlieb said. . “If you have contact with families where the adults have been vaccinated, the children are less likely to get the infection.”
However, Gottlieb stressed that even Americans who have been vaccinated should keep in mind that the pandemic, which has been going on for over a year, is not over yet. For example, he said that a person who has received a Covid injection should still wear a mask around a high-risk person who has not been vaccinated.
“People who have been vaccinated may feel that they are much less likely to become seriously ill,” he said. “They are less likely to contract the infection and are less likely to pass the evidence. … But if you are around vulnerable people, there is still a possibility that you could be asymptotic and have the virus. and pass the virus on to that vulnerable person. “
CNBCs Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.
Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a contributor to CNBC and serves on the boards of Pfizer, genetic testing start-up Tempus, healthcare technology company Aetion Inc. and biotech company IlluminaHe is also co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings‘and Royal Caribbean‘s “Healthy Sail Panel.”