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EXPERT SHARES TIPS FOR TRAVELING WITH KIDS
WHO ARE NOT VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JULY 16-JULY 22, 2021 19
BY NEW YORK FAMILY
Summer is back, and if you haven’t noticed, people
are traveling. As more states and countries start to
open up, many of us are frankly itching to visit family
or experience a vacation again. But while many of
us parents and older kids are vaccinated, our younger
children are not vaccinated, which is a concern for
many families wanting to travel.
Whether you are scouring online to find a great
getaway deal or looking to book tickets soon, we chatted
with Dr. Steven Gelman, director of outpatient pediatrics
at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist
Hospital, about traveling with unvaccinated kids
this summer.
First, is it safe for kids to travel if they have not been
vaccinated?
Yes, it is safe for kids to travel if they have not
been vaccinated. That said, I would advise that families
head to destinations where the positivity rates
are lower, which does knock off some locations.
But if kids are too young at this point to be vaccinated,
I do encourage their travel companions, such
as their parents or relatives, to be vaccinated before
travel. This will minimize the potential spread to the
children. If parents are not vaccinated, then I discourage
travel.
Realistically it’s tough to get a toddler or, even in
my case, my special needs child to wear a mask, any
tips that can help keep our kids safe this summer? Is
this still something that a parent should be concern
about?
It is challenging to get some kids to wear their
masks and certainly not easy to get them to wear
them properly. One of the benefits of summer travel
is that many activities are outdoors, decreasing the
spread. I would recommend dining outdoors with unvaccinated
children and not yet eating indoors.
As much as possible, I would keep your family
in a bubble and try to keep the kids close. In some
ways, travel now is more challenging than it was a
few months ago in that most adults wore their masks
then, and you could avoid those that didn’t. Now so
many vaccinated adults have removed their masks,
so it is harder to know who is vaccinated and who
isn’t. This comes back to the idea of traveling to cities
and states where the COVID positivity numbers
are low and conducive to outdoor activities as much
as possible.
We have been seeing and expect to continue to see
an increase in other viral pathogens, like common
cold germs, increasing in the younger group as the
COVID numbers drop. Like in flu season, these kids
have to be monitored for any respiratory problems
and dehydration. Most clear it like they always did.
Any idea when young children will be able to get
vaccinated?
Currently, children under 12 years old are not
eligible for the vaccine, but we hear and are hopeful
it will be available to younger children in the fall.
While I am excited and hopeful for it to be expanded
soon, unless it happens imminently, it wouldn’t help
for summer travel.
/QNS.COM
