United States: On Tuesday, an expert panel overwhelmingly recommended the US Food and Drug Administration to approve the Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11, stating that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks.
The vaccination could be accessible for children as early as next week. If the FDA approves the vaccines for this age range, a panel of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet next week to recommend how the vaccine should be administered. The final decision will be made by the director of the CDC. With one abstention, the vote was 17 in favor.
While children being extremely ill or dying from COVID-19 is uncommon compared to adults, some children do experience difficulties, and infections in unvaccinated children have increased due to the coronavirus’s easily spread Delta version. COVID-19 has killed over 500 children in the United States, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The advisers were particularly concerned about the rate of myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation linked to both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna (MRNA.O) vaccines, particularly in young males. Due to the risk of myocarditis, several panel members recommended that the vaccination be administered to a smaller group of children, such as those with conditions that make them more likely to be hospitalized.