The White House Task Force on COVID-19 held a briefing Wednesday when vaccinations were finally administered to children as young as 5 years old in the US, much to the relief of some parents, even if others have questions or concerns.
See the player briefing above.
Late Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave final approval to children aged 5 to 11 to receive children’s doses of the vaccine produced by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. Pediatricians and other medical groups have praised the move and are preparing to help families decide whether to vaccinate their children.
Like the COVID-19 vaccines for adults and adolescents, they are free.
In a study, Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine proved to be nearly 91% effective in preventing symptomatic infection. The vaccinated young adults had the same high levels of antibodies to fight the virus as the adolescents and young adults who received the full dose.
In the study, children between the ages of 5 and 11 had some irritating reactions after being shot, including pain in the arms and fatigue, similar to those in adolescents and young adults, but less likely to have a fever. A total of 4,600 young people were included in the study, of whom 3,100 received the vaccine, and the rest received pacifiers. The FDA found no safety issues.
Injections are offered in pediatric offices, clinics and pharmacies. Some school systems are also planning to open vaccination clinics. Two drugstore chains will begin operations this weekend: Walgreens on Saturday and CVS on Sunday.
