In a little over two years since the start of the pandemic, almost everyone in the U.S. is now available for the COVID vaccines. Yesterday, Friday, the FDA approved of the vaccines intended for children as young as six months.
Authorization of the vaccines was finalized Wednesday as a Committee of vaccine experts voted to authorize the distribution of the vaccines during meeting open to the public.
Pfizer’s vaccine will be administered in three doses for children four years old to six months, while Moderna’s vaccine will be administered to children six months to five years, which is two doses. A CDCP committee will meet today to issue guidelines for healthcare providers and pharmacies.
According to Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID response coordinator, vaccines are expected to begin sometime next week, while parents who wish to get their children vaccinated, can be expected to do so in the next several weeks.
At least 202 children ranging from six months to five years old, have died of COVID since the pandemic, and children below five years of age are the only ones still to be vaccinated against a virus that has killed hundreds of thousands in the U.S. alone.
“We have to be careful that we don’t become numb to the number of pediatric deaths because of the overwhelming number of older deaths,” Dr. Peter Marks, the head of the FDA’s vaccine division told the committee. “Every life is important. For those who have lost children to COVID-19, our hearts go out to them because each child that’s lost essentially fractures a family.”
Sources: The Week, CNBC.
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