CDC director urges US parents to get their teens vaccinated

‘Much of this suffering can be prevented,’ Dr Rochelle Walensky says, citing high hospitalisations among adolescents

Dr Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has beseeched American parents to get their teenage children vaccinated.

“I am deeply concerned by the numbers of hospitalised adolescents and saddened to see the numbers of adolescents who required treatment in intensive care units or mechanical ventilation,” Dr Walensky said in a statement on Friday. “Much of this suffering can be prevented.”

Dr Walensky cited a new report that showed the number of teenagers hospitalised with Covid-19 increased in April. The study emphasised that although such hospitalisations are most common among older adults, the disease is dangerous to people of all ages.

“Until they are fully vaccinated, adolescents should continue to wear masks and take precautions when around others who are not vaccinated to protect themselves, and their family, friends, and community,” Dr Walensky said. “I ask parents, relatives and close friends to join me and talk with teens about the importance of these prevention strategies and to encourage them to get vaccinated.”

Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration authorised Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid vaccine for use in adolescents as young as 12. Moderna is seeking the same authorisation for its vaccine this month, and is expected to get it.

“Vaccination is our way out of this pandemic,” Dr Walensky added. “I continue to see promising signs in CDC data that we are nearing the end of this pandemic in this country; however, we all have to do our part and get vaccinated to cross the finish line.”