The CDC decided unanimously that COVID vaccines should be opened too children as young as 6 months old.
The advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously decided that coronavirus vaccines should be opened to children as young as 6 months. The final signoff was expected later in the day from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.The government has been gearing up for the start of the shots early next week, withfor distribution to doctors, hospitals and community health clinics around the country.
Pfizer’s vaccine is for 6 months through 4 years. The dose is one-tenth of the adult dose, and three shots are needed. The first two are given three weeks apart, and the last at least two months later. Two doses of Moderna appeared to be only about 40% effective at preventing milder infections at a time when thewas causing most COVID-19 illnesses. Pfizer presented study information suggesting the company saw 80% with its three shots. But the Pfizer data was so limited — and based on such a small number of cases — that experts and federal officials say they don’t feel there is a reliable estimate yet.
"It is worth vaccinating, even though the number of deaths are relatively rare, because these deaths are preventable through vaccination," said Dr. Matthew Daley, a Kaiser Permanente Colorado researcher who sits on the advisory committee."Whatever vaccine your health care provider, pediatrician has, that’s what I would give my child," Marks said Friday.
U.S. officials expect most shots to take place at pediatricians’ offices. Many parents may be more comfortable getting the vaccine for their kids at their regular doctor, White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said. He predicted the pace of vaccination to be far slower than it was for older populations.