Motorists make their way past a sign announcing “Pfizer Today” available at the Cal State Los Angeles COVID-19 vaccine site in Los Angeles, California on Monday. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to authorize the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for adolescent kids aged 12-15 years within a week or less, according to federal officials who spoke with the New York Times.
Pfizer has previously reported that its vaccine was found to be as effective as it was in adults, with no additional side effects, in its clinical trial involving adolescents. FDA authorization of the vaccine for the new age group would likely be followed, as after previous vaccine authorizations, by a quick review from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel.
As the Times notes, amid consistent supply and weakening demand, there is currently a vaccine surplus in the U.S., including some 31 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine which have already been delivered throughout the country. While all Americans 16 and older are currently eligible to receive a COVID vaccine, it’s not clear if all states would immediately expand that eligibility to ages 12 and over following the FDA authorization of the Pfizer vaccine.
One epidemiologist who spoke with the Times, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security’s Jennifer Nuzzo, also pointed out that giving the vaccine to American adolescents, at a time when most other countries are unable to get enough doses, might not be ethical.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: Reuters - 🏆 2. / 97 Read more »
Source: ScaryMommy - 🏆 116. / 63 Read more »
Source: HuffPostParents - 🏆 414. / 53 Read more »
Source: WebMD - 🏆 709. / 51 Read more »