CDC Recommends COVID-19 Vaccine for Younger Children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky followed the advice of the agency’s advisory committee in deciding to expand use of the vaccine to young children. “We know millions of parents are eager to get their children vaccinated and with this decision, we now have recommended that about 28 million children receive a 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.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Walensky followed the advice of a panel of experts, which met earlier on Nov. 2 to review data on the safety and efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for kids. In a unanimous vote, the committee decided to recommend the shot for the youngest group yet to get immunized against COVID-19. The CDC committee’s recommendation follows last week’s decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the youngest population yet. The vaccine for this age group is one-third the adult dose and will be given in two doses, one month apart. The FDA authorized the shot for the entire age group, but it was up to the CDC to determine whether all children ages 5 to 11 should get vaccinated, or whether only a s...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news