A U.S. Vaccine for Kids Will Boost Family Travel

For the past 18 months, many families with children age five to 11 have been cautious when it comes to traveling far from home or being around crowds, preferring to take domestic trips and explore the outdoors in relative solitude. But their options could soon expand for the first time since the pandemic hit, and in time for the holiday season.

On October 26, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to meet to decide on Pfizer’s proposed vaccine dose for kids age five to 11, and experts anticipate an approval, which would make jabs available as early as the end of the month. Approval in the U.S. is likely to lead to subsequent authorization in Europe.

“I think by Thanksgiving we are seeing absolutely that's available,” said Perry Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health. “We also know that about a third of parents are ready, willing and able to have their children vaccinated, and that third will likely be very quick in their uptake of a vaccine for their children.”

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Hesitancy is expected on the part of some parents, but their numbers are expected to be lower than those who have been waiting for the ability to protect their young kids. 

“The group of parents who are planning to vaccinate their kids right away is a bigger one than those who are not planning to do so,” said Lynn Minnaert, clinical associate professor at New York University's Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality, referring to the results from the latest U.S. Family Travel Survey 2021 by the Family Travel Association and New York University.

Sixty-one percent of families said they planned on getting their kids vaccinated while 39 percent do not, according to the survey. The 5-11-year-old segment is a substantial portion of the market, Minnaert said; they are old enough to travel and to be a little independent.

A jab for those kids by the time Thanksgiving rolls around couldn’t be better timing for the recovery of the family travel segment. But it isn’t likely to result in an immediate game changer, experts agreed.

“It’s a very personal thing and people have different experiences and beliefs; certainly the vaccine has opened up the door for