All Approvals In, US All Set To Start Covid Vaccination Drive For Children Aged 5 to 11 Years

FDA already approved Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for 5-11 age group last week, authorising a 10-microgram dose

Representational image of a child getting vaccinated | Photo: Getty

New Delhi: The United States is all set to roll out Covid-19 vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 years, with the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tuesday recommending paediatric Covid vaccine for the age group.

The announcement came hours after a panel of advisers to the CDC unanimously backed the move, saying the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks, and days after the US Food and Drug Administration authorised Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for young children. 

While the shot given to those aged 12 and older is 30 micrograms, the FDA authorised a 10-microgram dose in the young children, media reports said. 

Pfizer and BioNTech claim their vaccine showed 90.7 per cent efficacy in a clinical trial of the drug in children aged 5 to 11, according to reports. 

In a statement, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said: "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."

The vaccine will be given in two injections, three weeks apart. 

"The vote was unanimous because the evidence is so clear. Kids 5 to 11 are better off vaccinated," Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, who was not a member of the CDC panel, said on Twitter after the vote.

CDC's vaccine expert advisory committee voted

14 to 0

in favor of vaccinating all kids ages 5 to 11

These are our nation's leading physicians and scientists

Most are also parents

The vote was unanimous because the evidence is so clear

Kids 5 to 11 are better off vaccinated

— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) November 2, 2021

President Joe Biden called the authorisation a turning point in the battle against the pandemic.

“The program will ramp up over the coming days, and fully up and running during the week of November 8,” he said in a statement. Biden said “thousands of pharmacies, pediatrician’s offices, schools, and other sites” would be equipped to vaccinate children.

'A Herculean effort'

The US government and Pfizer have started distributing the vaccine for a widespread rollout for children.

"We've shipped to dozens of states already over the weekend and Monday. There is a Herculean effort so there will be doses available everywhere," a Reuters report quoted Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla as saying in an interview. 

The CDC said vaccinating children will help protect them from getting Covid infection, thereby reducing their risk of severe disease, hospitalisations, or developing long-term complications. "Getting your children vaccinated can help protect them against COVID-19, as well as reduce disruptions to in-person learning and activities by helping curb community transmission," it said. 

“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,” Dr. Walensky said in the statement issued by the CDC.