New York: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday said that the United States can now start giving Pfizer-BioNtech Covid vaccine to children aged 5-11 as they gave final approval to this new phase of fighting the pandemic.Also Read - European Union Regulator Approves Pfizer COVID Vaccine Booster For 18 And Older: Report
The vaccine was endorsed by the US health authorities days after gaining authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, clearing the way for the vaccination of up to 28 million children, AFP reported. Also Read - New Zealand Reports First Death Linked To Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine
The government was well ahead of the decision, procuring enough doses for the children in the 5-11 age group and beginning to ship them across the country. Also Read - Hong Kong, Macau Temporarily Halt Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Over Flawed Vials
Since the FDA approval, “there hasn’t been a moment that teams have not been picking, packing and shipping vaccines,” Jeff Zients, the White House pandemic coordinator, said.
“We are planning on some vaccinations towards the end of this week,” he said, adding that the program will be “really hitting full strength the week of November 8.”
The CDC had convened a panel of independent scientists on Tuesday to review the available data on the status of the outbreak in children, the effectiveness of Pfizer’s vaccine, and its possible side effects during a day of live-streamed discussions.