Ask Our Experts

Do children really need to get a COVID -19 vaccine?

Are ‘buy now, pay later’ plans a good idea?

YES. IF THEY’RE of eligible age, they should get vaccinated. The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the PfizerBioNTech vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds after evaluating its safety and effectiveness; and younger children may be eligible by the fall. (In fact, a recent clinical trial found the Pfizer vaccine to be 100 percent effective at preventing COVID19 in 12- to 15-year-olds.) Moderna has also requested FDA authorization for use of its vaccine in those ages 12 to 17.

In the early months of the pandemic, scientists learned that children and teens were much less likely than adults to become very ill from the virus. While this is still mostly true, in some cases younger children have had organ damage or died as a result of COVID-19. And teens are more likely to experience the severe symptoms many adults do, says Kathryn Edwards, MD, scientific director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program and a professor of pediatrics. In fact, teens account for almost a quarter of new cases, and some states are seeing a rapid spread of infections in children. This may be because of the fact that as adults get vaccinated, the percentage of them getting infected goes down, thus increasing the proportion of cases of children who test positive.

Another reason: The new variants of COVID-19 could be more infectious and dangerous—even to younger people. This makes vaccinating children more urgent. “There have been around 300 to 600 pediatric COVID deaths,” says Gregory Poland, MD, director of the Vaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic, who studies vaccine response in adults and children. “That’s likely to increase if we don’t stop transmission by getting as many people immunized as possible.”

L E A R N

We have more than 140 in-house experts who research, test, and compare. Submit your questions at CR.org/askourexperts … and watch for the answers. MORE ONLINE SHOPPERS are encountering a new payment method when checking out: a button typically allowing you to put down 25 percent of the purchase price, then pay off the rest in three equal installments over six weeks—with no fees or interest. This “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) type of instant, no-cost financing has become increasingly popular, says CR money editor Penelope Wang.

You may see it while shopping at Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart, and other retailers. And more than 40 percent of American shoppers have used a BNPL plan, according to a Credit Karma/Qualtrics survey. Some hard-pressed Americans are using it to stretch out payments for necessities; others employ it only for bigticket items (such as a TV). These short-term loans also appeal to consumers who can’t qualify for a credit card but still want to enjoy the advantage of spreading out payments.

There are risks, however. Depending on the type of plan you use, you may face fees and interest charges if you don’t make the payments on time— so you’ll need to manage the payments carefully or set up automatic ones. You also may have trouble getting a refund, even if the product you bought is defective or otherwise unsatisfactory. “Read the terms of the loans on the lender’s website carefully,” Wang says. And there’s the danger of buying much more than you can afford: One survey found that almost half of BNPL shoppers said they increased their spending by 10 to 40 percent or more compared with using a credit card.

Does driving more slowly help you save money on gas?

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, keeping to lower speeds can substantially increase your fuel economy (and therefore save you some money). CR’s auto experts looked at the effect of speed on fuel consumption by testing a widely sold sedan (a Nissan Altima) and SUV (a Toyota RAV4). They found that reducing speed from 65 mph to 55 mph improved the fuel economy in both vehicles: Gas mileage improved by 6 mpg in the Altima and 8 mpg in the RAV4—potentially saving drivers between $92 and $153 per year in gas money (assuming 12,000 miles of driving annually and a fuel cost of $3.05 per gallon). In a less efficient vehicle, your savings may be even greater. By driving smoothly at a moderate speed, you’ll also reduce wear and tear on your vehicle and pollute less.