CDC backs Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for young children
US health officials have given the final signoff to Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine in children ages five to 11, with shots possibly going into young arms as soon as Wednesday.
The announcement by Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), came only hours after an advisory panel unanimously decided Pfizer’s shots should be opened to the 28 million children in that age group, saying the benefits of the vaccination outweigh the risks.
The decision marks the first opportunity for Americans under 12 to get the powerful protection of any Covid-19 vaccine.
“As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated,” Walensky said on Tuesday night in a statement.
The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization of the vaccine in five- to 11-year-olds on Friday.
The FDA authorized a 10-microgram dose of Pfizer’s vaccine in young children. The original shot given to those age 12 and older is 30 micrograms.
Walensky said pediatric hospitalizations had surged during the recent wave driven by the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
The risk from Covid-19 “is too high and too devastating to our children and far higher than for many other diseases for which we vaccinate children”, she said.
She also noted that school closures have had detrimental social and mental health impacts on children.
“Pediatric vaccination has the power to help us change all of that,” she said.
The US government and Pfizer have begun distributing the vaccine in preparation for a widespread rollout for children, many of whom are back in school for in-person learning.
Earlier this week, the White House
said the United States has enough supply of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for all 28 million children aged five to 11. While some children may be able to get their first shots as soon as Wednesday, the plans is for the pediatric vaccine program to be running at full strength by next week, a Biden administration official said.
Only a few other countries, including China, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates, have so far cleared Covid-19 vaccines for children in this age group and younger.