America's Alarming Apathy To Children

A note from PTF cofounders Kate, Mari, Sophie and Fatima

As co-founders of Protect Their Future, a grassroots organization made up of parents and pediatricians dedicated to ensuring protection against COVID for all children, the approval of vaccines for children under five—the last age group to be eligible for vaccine protection against COVID—should have been cause for celebration. Instead, we find ourselves replaying the losses so many families have endured while waiting for access to these vaccines and wondering how to best ensure we never end up here again. 

In the almost eight months since children five and over became eligible for COVID vaccines, millions of children under five were infected during Omicron’s seemingly never-ending surge. Mask mandates across the country were rolled back, leaving young children defenseless and unable to participate in society without risking their health.

A Politico article from April cited delays occurred in part because parents might be “confused” by two vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer). But the only real confusion has come from the lack of consistency and clarity from our leaders. While children waited unprotected, many of our nation’s leaders claimed the pandemic was “over,” removed mask mandates, changed methodologies that track community transmission levels, or delayed vaccines already proven to be safe and effective. Those actions undermined trust in our leadership, giving ammunition to the anti-vax community and forcing Americans to draw their own conclusions about COVID. 

Reflecting upon why delays were placed on data review of Moderna’s vaccine for under fives in January and then again in May, reminds us of a general apathy towards childrens’ well-being that spurs other preventable problems like gun violence, formula shortages, and climate change. And yet, when children are shot, starve, or become sick or displaced, our leaders at best wring their hands and offer platitudes. At worst, they gaslight parents, and politicize the issues.  

Yes, vaccine trials take time, and we all want to ensure a safe and effective vaccine, but this doesn’t answer why our leaders were able to move mountains to safely bring vaccines to the adult population less than a year after the pandemic, but our youngest had to wait almost two and a half years. 

Again and again, we see an apathy towards the lives of the most vulnerable and voiceless. For example, the FDA recognized in 2020 that there could be a formula shortage, but chose not to act.  That inaction ultimately resulted in babies becoming malnourished and, in some cases, dying. Similarly, in December 2021, Pfizer’s trial data for children six months to two years old met the trial criteria for a safe and effective vaccine, but fell short for three and four year olds. Instead of moving the vaccines forward for the youngest children, the FDA chose to stop the entire process in order to follow the convention of waiting for older age groups to get approval before younger ones. And when parents expressed concern for the delays, their voices were dismissed as “noise” by the FDA Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Dr. Peter Marks.  

Children lack the political power of lobbyists, donors, and even regular voters, so adults must actively protect the best interests of children. That includes keeping them from preventable harm, sickness, and death. It is impossible to ignore the issue of inequity: many children who bear the brunt of failed policies are from communities of color or working families whose needs have been trivialized and ignored. In fact, of the estimated 19 million children in the U.S. under age 5, half are children of color, and four in ten children live in a family with income below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). The pandemic has also exacerbated the wealth gap, since protecting a child under five—or one with underlying health issues—has often meant leaving work, hiring a nanny or, at a minimum, purchasing an array of ever-changing air filters, purifiers, and masks. 

When we started Protect Their Future, we did not know that the thousands of families who joined us would catapult a movement calling for much more than a vaccine. It has become abundantly clear that we must demand that the health system prioritize children in its policies, since addressing this root issue is the only way to prevent history from repeating itself.

The struggle doesn’t end with shots in arms–it ends when children are not used to win political points. It ends when policy is centered on our kids’ best interests. It ends when we are committed to genuinely ensuring that we do everything possible to protect our children’s future. It is within this context that parents, physicians, and all who value the core principles of equity and the future of our children form a strong counter voice affirming that our children can never be last again. 

Are we willing to alter our political system if it means building a livable world for future generations? What does it say about us as a nation, and what are the moral, ethical, and practical consequences, if the answer to the question is no?