WORCESTER, Mass. - Dr. Christina Hermos specializes in pediatric infectious diseases at UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center.
She says vaccinating kids and teens is the next step to completely eliminating coronavirus.
"They're going to continue to be a sort of well of infection and put adults at risk," Dr. Heremos said. "Potentially, the adults who can't get vaccinated for various reasons or aren't able to respond to the vaccine because they're immunocompromised."
Right now, Pfizer is the only vaccine manufacturer authorized for kids ages 12 to 17. But, Moderna announced on Tuesday their vaccine is working well in kids as young as 12.
Dr. Hermos says the vaccine goes beyond preventing coronavirus.
"We've seen hundreds of kids come down with post-infection complications called M.I.S.C. (Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children) and that can be quite serious," Dr. Hermos said. "We've had dozens of kids come through the hospital with that complication."
The Worcester Public Schools is vaccinating middle school students after holding clinics for high schoolers last week.
Safety Director Rob Pezzella says the district's vaccination rate will determine how normal the classroom will be next year.
"Unless we get more students vaccinated, I think you're going to continue to see that students will be required to wear masks as we start the school year," Pezzella said.
The district is using Pfizer, but Moderna is hoping to submit its data to the FDA in early June and become the second brand available for kids.
If approved, Dr. Hermos encourages families to get their shot if they haven't by then.
"When people have questions about the safety of vaccines, they're one of the best studied and best understood interventions we have for health out there on the market," Dr. Hermos said, adding in her experience, she has seen some small short term side effects in the younger demographic, like fever, aches, and some soreness, but nothing long term at this point.