Last week, ​Substack hosted a briefing and live Q&A with health and parenting experts aimed at answering questions about the latest data on kids and COVID, including back-to-school safety, vaccine timelines, and risk trade-offs.

We organized the event in order to tap into the collective expertise of parenting and data expert Emily Oster and epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina, two Substack writers who’ve been sharing valuable, data-driven information with their readers. By getting these experts together in a (virtual) room and in conversation, we hope to provide a resource for parents and anyone else grappling with making informed decisions as they navigate the ongoing pandemic with the children in their lives.

The discussion between Emily Oster (publisher of ParentData and bestselling author of Expecting Better and Cribsheet) and Katelyn Jetelina (publisher of Your Local Epidemiologist and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center) was moderated by Christina Farr (publisher of Second Opinion, health-tech lead for OMERS Ventures, and former health reporter for CNBC).

The Q&A covered a wider range of reader-submitted questions, with discussion touching on everything from shifting vaccine timelines for the under-12 set, to the unknown long-term effects of COVID in kids, to what to do if your child comes down with the sniffles.

Listen to the full audio transcript above, or watch the video below:

Read more from the panelists by subscribing to Emily Oster’s ParentData, Katelyn Jetelina’sYour Local Epidemiologist, and Christina Farr’s Second Opinion.

Want to hear more Substack writers get together in conversation? Leave a comment to suggest who you’d like to listen in on.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit on.substack.com