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| Photo Credit: AP. |
The United States would issue COVID vaccines to infants, toddlers and preschoolers from next week after it opened COVID-19 vaccines to little kids on Saturday.
The move is an expansion of the nation’s vaccination campaign to children as young as 6 months as it works towards a zero COVID policy.
The vaccines
were recommended for young children by Advisers to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention which was followed by the final signoff hours later from
Dr Rochelle Walensky, the agency’s director, The Associated Press Reports.
“We know
millions of parents and caregivers are eager to get their young children
vaccinated, and with today’s decision, they can,” Walensky said in a statement,
according to The Associated Press.
It is the
duty of the Food and Drug Administration to approve drugs while the CDC decides
who should get them.
The shots
would offer young children protection from hospitalization, death and possible
long term complication that are still not clearly understood, The Associated Press
cited a statement from the CDC’s advisory panel.
About 18
million kids will be eligible but it is not clear how many children will be allowed
by parents and caregivers to take part since only a third of children ages 5 to
11 were vaccinated since vaccination opened up to them last November, according
to The Associated Press.
The U.S. government
has ordered millions of doses for distribution to doctors, hospitals and
community health clinics around the country.
On Friday two
popular brands – Pfizer and Moderna were approved by the FDA followed by
similar approvals by the CDC on Saturday.
The only difference
between the two brands is the administration of doses. Pfizer’s vaccine is for
children 6 months to 4 years old. 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, according to The Associated Press.
Moderna’s
vaccine is for kids 6 months to 5 years old. The dose is two shots given about
four weeks apart. The FDA has also approved a third dose, at least a month
after the second shot, for children with immune conditions that make them more
vulnerable to serious illness.