As we’ve continued to see major breakthroughs in health and safety procedures, all adults in the United States became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in the middle of April.
Moving forward, health officials have been working to possibly put vaccine passports in place, while the CDC has stated that fully vaccinated people can be outdoors without a mask. Now that adults have access to the vaccine, there’s been the question of when the vaccine would become available to people under the age of 16.
The New York Times has reported that the FDA has authorized the use of the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds. This is major progress as many kids have returned to in-person classes around peers and adults. Now that the FDA has undergone successful trials, the CDC will be meeting to discuss the data and make its own recommendations about the use of the vaccine for this age group moving forward.
Once the CDC gives its approval, Pfizer vaccinations for those aged 12 to 15 years old could become available immediately. Dr. Kristin Oliver, a pediatrician and vaccine expert at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, has stated, “This is great news. It feels like we’ve been waiting a long time to start protecting children in this age group.” The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is already available to anyone over 16.
The Pfizer vaccine has already been tested in groups of children aged 5 to 11 as well as ages 2 to 5. They plan to expand their research to children aged 6 months to 2 years old soon. Pfizer is looking to apply for FDA approval of the vaccine for groups aged 2 to 11 in September. The results from Moderna’s vaccine findings in those aged 12 to 17 will likely be released in the next few weeks, as research about the vaccine in ages 6 months to 12 years old will possibly be available later in the year.
Currently, AstraZeneca is testing the vaccine in children aged 6 months and older, while Johnson & Johnson plans to wait for results in the trials conducted on participants over the age of 12 before testing in younger children.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated on everything you need to know about health and safety regulations moving forward. And, you can stay tuned with DFB for the latest news.
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Deb says
I personally think it’s horrendous to even think about vaccinating children as we do not know what the future will bring , as an adult it was my choice to have the vaccine