After her family battled COVID-19, Georgia mother pushes for a 5-and-under vaccine

ATLANTA - Suzanne Wooley of Acworth, Georgia, has spent the last two years trying to keep her three children safe from the coronavirus.

Matthew and Stephanie, who are 8 and 6 are fully vaccinated.

Annie, who is 3, is still too young to be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

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"I think a lot of parents of under-fives really feel like we've been forgotten," Wooley says.  "We're doing our best. But, once omicron hit, I think a lot of us just braced ourselves that it's coming, and it's going to hit our families, and we're going to have to just  hope and pray that it's not bad."

Wooley's projection, at least for her family, was correct.

On January 19, 2022,  Matthew came home from school complaining of a headache and feeling dizzy.

So, she tested him using a rapid at-home test.

"I knew it was going to be positive," Wooley says.

It was.

Stephanie and Annie, both asymptomatic, tested positive, too.

So did Suzanne and her husband,  who both got mildly ill.

"It was just this huge sinking feeling," Wooley says. "We've cocooned for two years.  We've missed big things. We've canceled trips. We've missed family events. Doing our best to keep our kids safe.  And when that positive came up, it really was kind of a punch in the gut."

Matthew and Stephanie missed five days of school.

Annie had to stay out of her daycare for 10 days.

And, then there were the phone calls.

"I had to notify his school, all of his friends he'd been hanging out with, the daycare," Wooley says.

The Wooleys are all vaccinated, except Annie.
 
But that could soon change, as the FDA considers whether to approve a low-dose vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech for children under 5.

Pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Shu with Children's Medical Group in Atlanta says many of her parents of younger children are eager to get the vaccine.

"I feel like it's been a long time in coming," Dr. Shu says. "All of the other age groups have gotten approval."

In clinical trials, Dr. Shu says, the two-dose Pfizer vaccine had mixed results.

The study groups were divided into two age groups: kids 6 months up to age 2 and those between the ages of 2 and 5.

"The two-dose worked well for the 6 months to two years olds, but in the two-dose up to 5 years, the two-dose did not work, and using a higher dose would create bigger side effects, which would not be acceptable," Dr. Shu says.

The company is studying whether adding a third dose to the regimen would boost effectiveness.

In the meantime, Pfizer and its vaccine partner BioNTech have applied to the FDA for emergency authorization of the two-dose vaccine.

"I think the thought is, why not try to get the children some protection from the two doses, while also still studying the third dose," Dr. Shu says.

Worley says the delays have been disappointing.

"I think that's been confusing for a lot of parents, because we held out because two doses weren't enough," she says.  "But, two doses weren't enough for adults either."

Suzanne Wooley says she just wants to get Annie vaccinated, so she can stop feeling so anxious.

"We can get back to really enjoying those small moments, versus worrying every day about keeping the virus out of the house," she says.

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