American children under 12 years of age will be vaccinated against coronavirus “most likely” in early 2022, immunologist Anthony Fauci, a White House adviser, said Sunday.

Currently, none of the three vaccines licensed in the United States (Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson) is available for children under 16 years of age.

But Fauci told NBC that some companies have already launched studies to “gradually” reduce this age.

“You don’t want to go from 12 years to six months at once, you start by going from 12 years to 9 years, then from 9 years to six, from six years to two years”, he explained.

Given the progress of these studies, the immunologist- widely respected in the United States- estimates that children under 12 would be vaccinated, at the earliest, at the end of the year.

“And most likely, in the first quarter of 2022“, he pointed.

Child vaccination is a key issue in the United States, as it could ease the burden on millions of parents whose children continue to receive distance education.

The situations vary greatly according to the region and the nature of the schools (public, private, religious), and there is a power struggle between the authorities and the teachers for the reopening of the institutions.

High school students should be able to get vaccinated “this fall”, Fauci said.

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