The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the first Covid-19 vaccines for children under age 5.
On Friday morning, the FDA granted emergency use for the Moderna and Pfizer jabs for children as young as 6 months.
‘Many parents, caregivers and clinicians have been waiting for a vaccine for younger children and this action will help protect those down to 6 months of age,’ stated FDA Commissioner Dr Robert Califf.
‘As we have seen with older age groups, we expect that the vaccines for younger children will provide protection from the most severe outcomes of Covid-19, such as hospitalization and death.’
The vaccines await approval by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before they can be administered to the younger age group. The CDC’s vaccine advisers are scheduled to vote on the matter on Saturday. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has already signed off on recommending the vaccines.
Before Friday, Pfizer’s vaccine was authorized for people aged 5 and older and approved for people 16 years and older. Moderna’s jab was authorized for adults only.
Pfizer’s jab is now authorized for children 6 months to 4 years old, while Moderna’s vaccine is authorized for children 6 months to 17 years old. That makes about 17million children under 5 years old eligible for coronavirus shots.
The FDA’s decision on Friday followed unanimous support from the agency’s independent advisors, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.
During the committee’s meeting on Wednesday, its director Dr Peter Marks said ‘it is a bit of a milestone to bring down the age range for these vaccines as we work through this’.
Vaccinations for kids under age 5 could start next week, according to the White House.
Coronavirus jab uptake among youth has been slow, and some public health experts believe that parents will not take their kids to get the vaccine even with it authorized.
‘Those trusted with the care of children can have confidence in the safety and effectiveness of these Covid-19 vaccines and can be assured that the agency was thorough in its evaluation of the data,’ Cardiff stated on Friday.
.
