(Reuters) – The U.S. drug administration, the FDA, on Friday authorized two COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5, paving the way for millions of U.S. children to be immunized.
The agency licensed the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech for children aged 6 months to 4 years, and that developed by Moderna for children aged 6 months to 17 years. The Pfizer vaccine has already received authorization for those over 5 years old.
Vaccines could be given to under-5s as early as next week, White House officials said. The major pharmacy chains have indicated that they are ready to distribute them.
An advisory group from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which must first make its recommendation on the use of vaccines, is due to meet on Friday and Saturday.
Although many American parents have expressed an intention to have their children vaccinated, demand remains uncertain. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was licensed for ages 5-11 in October, but only 29% of them are fully vaccinated, according to federal data.
“Caregivers can be confident in the safety and effectiveness of these COVID-19 vaccines and can be assured that the agency has conducted a thorough evaluation of the data,” said Robert Califf. , commissioner of the FDA, in a statement.
Public health officials say that although a large proportion of young children were infected during the winter surge linked to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, natural immunity wanes over time. Vaccination should help avoid hospitalizations and deaths if cases rise again.
(Report Manas Mishra in Bangalore; French version Valentine Baldassari)
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