The Problem With Being Too Cautious in Vaccine Trials
Scientists try to protect children and pregnant women from harm, but exclusion from early research carries a cost.
Late last month, the CDC confirmed that two young children had been diagnosed with monkeypox. Although almost all infections in the United States are associated with men who have sex with men, the virus is spreading rapidly and, through household exposure or other transmission routes, could soon turn up in other populations, such as infants, adolescents, and pregnant people (including their fetuses).
Public-health officials the Jynneos vaccine for household contacts of, and others recently in close contact with, people who have monkeypox. But this shot suffers from the same problem as many vaccines developed against emerging infectious in people who are pregnant or under 18 years old.
