The advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted to recommend two COVID-19 vaccines for young children aged 6 months, which may lead to their availability across the country next week. The vote, which was unanimously supported by all 12 members of the advisory committee, needs the signature of CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to allow the U.S. government to begin administering the vaccines to children aged 5 years and younger. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the Moderna vaccine for children aged 6 months to 5 years, and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children aged 6 months to 4 years. The Pfizer vaccine is already authorized for children over 5 years old.
Beth Bell, a committee member, stated after the vote, "This disease is killing children, and we have an opportunity to prevent that. We have a chance to eliminate a known risk." The Biden administration plans to make the vaccines available to children under 5 years old next week. Biden said in a statement on Friday, "We will begin shipping millions of doses of the vaccines for children to thousands of places that parents know and trust, including pediatricians' offices, children's hospitals, and pharmacies." He added, "With the delivery of doses, parents will be able to schedule vaccinations for their children next week, with more appointments available in the days and weeks to come."
While many parents in the U.S. are eager to vaccinate their children, it is unclear how many will actually choose to receive the doses. Federal data indicates that only 29% of children aged 5 to 11 years have been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which was authorized for this age group in October.
