FDA panel meets this week on COVID vaccines for children aged 5-11

An FDA advisory committee will meet from Tuesday to decide whether about 28 million children qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine.

How Soon Can Children Ages 5-11 Get a COVID Vaccine? Possibly in November, but the FDA and CDC must sign it.

On Tuesday, Oct. 26, the FDA panel will meet to discuss whether to approve the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5-11. Earlier this month, the vaccine maker applied for emergency use approval for its COVID vaccine in children ages 5 to 11.

Read more: FDA says Pfizer COVID vaccine looks effective for young children

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“It will protect them. Obviously, it will also add population immunity to our wider population and help reduce the number of infections,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health. “It will be another important step towards the end of this pandemic.”

Children make up about 1/4 of all COVID cases in the United States. National data shows that COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all declining. Health experts point to the vaccine.

“We add kids to the mix and we can get the (vaccinated) numbers much higher and hopefully prevent more variants from coming,” says Dr. Jennifer Shu, pediatrician.

Ultimately to the parents

Pfizer officials don’t just have to convince FDA advisors, they also have to convince parents. It is ultimately up to them.

A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that about 1/3 of parents in the age bracket would adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Another 1/3 would have their children get the vaccine right away.

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“Talk to your pediatrician if you have any questions,” said Andy Slavitt, former senior White House adviser on COVID-19. “We know that six million children have had COVID, more than a million in the past six weeks. They can get it and spread it.”

That’s the thought process behind all of this: Not only can kids get it, but they can get it without knowing they have it and spread it. The more vaccinated, the less transmission happens and the closer we get to ending the pandemic.

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