The CDC has issued a formal recommendation for children aged 5 to 11 years old to get a low dosage of the Covid vaccination, making it the youngest age group yet to receive their vaccinations in the U.S.
The advisory board to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted Tuesday in favor of an official recommendation. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, had previously voted to temporarily extend an unofficial recommendation for children to receive the vaccine. After the official vote, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off on the recommendation, officially making it a CDC recommendation.
In the late night Tuesday announcement, the CDC recommended a low-dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and said this will affect about 28 million children, and urged health care providers to begin vaccinating the age group as soon as possible.
Today vaccines were rolled out for children across the country. The White House said it has enough vaccines for every child within that age group, and that 15 million doses are already being shipped to pediatricians across the country. The White House said that distribution began last week following the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the vaccine for children.
Children will receive 10 micrograms, which is a third of the dosage given to adolescents and adults. The vaccine proved to be highly effective at triggering antibodies to Covid during its clinical trials, and was evaluated to be more than 90 percent effective at blocking symptomatic disease.
While children are at a much lower risk for severe Covid than adults, over 6 million have tested positive for the virus, and thousands within this age group have been hospitalized. Close to 200 children have died from Covid.
CDC data estimates that by vaccinating this young age group, 60,000 cases of Covid could be prevented by March 2022. The organization hopes that it will also dampen chances of a new variant emerging.
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