The Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which is now available for children aged five to eleven years old. This opens up shots for a new age group and ends the anxious waiting for parents of children in this age bracket.
Although children are less likely to experience severe symptoms when they contract COVID-19 disease, they still have the potential to spread it. Children had the highest number of cases and deaths, with over a million new cases.
The authorization allows vaccination to be made available to an additional 28 million Americans. A September poll showed that nearly a third of parents wanted their children to be vaccinated immediately after authorization.
This group is eligible for an emergency use authorization to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Although the FDA has approved the shot for adults 16 years and older, it is still an emergency product for children 5-16 years old.
California plans to include the COVID-19 vaccine in its school vaccine list once it is approved for school-aged children and teens. New York is looking at a similar requirement.
The two other COVID-19 vaccines, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, are only available for people over 18 years old. Although the FDA was close to approving the Moderna shot for adolescents aged 12-17, it delayed its decision to examine the data regarding the rare risk of developing heart inflammation. Johnson & Johnson continues to conduct trials in younger age group.
