The United States plans to begin vaccinating children ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19 starting in November, the Joe Biden government said on Wednesday, a move that will make it possible for 28 million more people to be immunized in the country.
"Our planning efforts mean that we will be prepared to begin vaccinations in the days following a final recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)."said the White House, alluding to the country’s main federal public health agency.
Pharmaceutical Pfizer requested authorization to apply its anticovid vaccine in this age group earlier this month, and the issue will be debated by two panels of experts.
The first, convened by the US drug regulator FDA, will meet next week, and the second, convened by the CDC, will meet on November 2-3, with the agency expected to make its recommendation shortly thereafter.
During a clinical trial, children 5 to 11 years old received two doses of 10 micrograms, compared with 30 micrograms for the older age groups. The injections were given 21 days apart.
The vaccine developed by the Pfizer / BioNTech alliance received full FDA approval for people 16 years of age and older, and the FDA in May authorized its emergency use in children 12 to 15 years of age.
Experts say that vaccinating children is essential to help build the population’s immunity against the disease.
While younger children are less likely to develop severe cases of COVID-19, they can still become ill and transmit the virus to the rest of the population.
Confidence in vaccines in the United States has increased in recent months.
As of Wednesday, 77.1% of the currently eligible population 12 years of age and older had received one or more doses of the covid vaccine.
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