It is expected that the FDA will soon give its formal green signal to Pfizer, making 28 million young Americans eligible for the shot by mid-November.
Younger children in the United States in the age group of 5-to-11-years will soon get their first jab of the COVID-19 vaccine. A medical panel of advisors endorsed the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children on Tuesday with 17 votes in favour and one abstention.
The meeting was convened by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is expected that the FDA will give its formal green signal soon, making 28 million young Americans eligible for the shot by mid-November.
"It is pretty clear to me that the benefits do outweigh the risk when I hear about children who are being put in the ICU, who are having long term outcomes after their COVID-19, and children are dying," said Amanda Cohn of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who voted yes.
Some experts are of the opinion that many children who are at high risk stand to benefit from this. They reiterate the fact that the theoretical risk of myocarditis, the most worrisome side-effect, would probably be very low given the lowered dose of 10 micrograms of the vaccine in comparison to 30 micrograms in older people.
On the other hand, several experts partly caveated their votes by saying they would not favour broad vaccine mandates in schools and the shot should remain a personal decision for families.
According to top Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vaccine scientist Peter Marks, younger children are far from being spared the harm of COVID-19. Peter Marks said that among children there had been 1.9 million infections and 8,300 hospitalisations, roughly a third of which required intensive care.
There have also been around 100 deaths, making it a top 10 leading cause of death, he added.
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 "FDA nod to Pfizer's low-dose COVID-19 vaccine for children")
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