Dr. Hotez advised parents to be careful and avoid misinformation. After Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration for authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine with BioNTech, Dr. Hotez recommended that children aged 5-11 years old get vaccinated.
Hotez, who is codirector of the Center for Vaccine Development, Texas Children's Hospital, said that there's a false narrative that this illness affects only older Americans. "Kids must get this vaccination. It's really great news, and hopefully it will be released to public shortly after Halloween."
28 million more children would be eligible if the FDA approved the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine is currently only approved for children 12 years old and older. To discuss Pfizer's data, a key FDA vaccine advisory panel is set to meet Oct. 26.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than 22,000 children have been admitted to hospital for Covid-19-related illnesses and 520 have lost their lives. Hotez said that despite the high number of cases, it was evident that vaccines should be given to children between 5 and 11.
Hotez exposed another false narrative regarding Covid-19 vaccines in children's health.
Hotez stated, "The other disinformation you're hearing is we're only vaccinating children to protect adults, and that kids can be fine and we're using them as, kinda, cannon fodder for adults to protect adults, and it's absurd."
