by Makini Brice
WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Saturday recommended vaccinating children as young as six months against COVID-19, paving the way for a possible campaign to vaccinate even very young children. which could start next week.
The CDC’s green light comes after the institution’s advisers voted in favor of recommending the vaccine for children, even infants.
The US health authority, the FDA, on Saturday approved Moderna’s vaccine for children aged six months to five years and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for children aged six months to four years. The Pfizer was already authorized for children over five.
President Joe Biden’s administration plans to roll out vaccines to under-fives as early as next week, in preparation for the next school year.
While many parents in the United States are eager to vaccinate their children, it is unclear what the demand will be for the youngest among them. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, authorized last October for the 5-11 age group, has only been administered to date to 29% of this category, according to federal data.
COVID-19 usually has mild effects in children, but since March 2020 it has been the fifth leading cause of death among children aged one to four, and the fourth among those under one, according to the CDC.
In addition, the institution’s advisers will meet again next week to decide whether or not to recommend the Moderna vaccine for the 6-17 age group in the face of concerns about the rare rate of cardiac inflammation observed in adolescents. and young adults who have been administered the product. (With Leroy Leo, Manas and Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat Bangalore, Gilles Guillaume for the French version)