CDC Advisers Offer Covid Vaccine to Young Children


Scientific advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday unanimously approved the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11; It’s a move that will bolster the defense against a possible spike when winter arrives and alleviate the concerns of tens of millions of pandemics. Tired parents.

The agency’s director, Dr. Vaccines for these children could begin as soon as this week if Rochelle Walensky formally accepts the recommendation, as expected. Dr. Walensky made a brief statement as the meeting began, noting that the day was “a day most of us are very eager to see.”

The CDC panel’s approval comes as Americans prepare for a potentially risky holiday season. Cases seen in the USA constantly falling for weeks now, but experts have warned that indoor gatherings could raise rates again. Many Americans seem determined to celebrate; airlines are already preparing for what might happen peak travel season since the beginning of the pandemic.

Even partial vaccination will provide some protection against coronavirus, although relatively few of the 29 million children in this age group will be fully vaccinated after a month. According to the CDC, each million doses given to children ages 5 to 11 would prevent approximately 58,000 cases and 226 hospitalizations in this group.

Health officials said vaccination of these children is expected to prevent about 600,000 new cases from November 2021 to March 2022, and that increased immunity could reduce the chance of young children infecting the virus to vulnerable adults in their families and communities.

Young children’s vaccinations are likely to help keep schools open. According to data presented at the committee meeting, virus outbreaks forced nearly 2,300 schools to close between August and October and affected more than 1.2 million students..

The pandemic has also halted routine vaccinations among children, widened education gaps, and increased rates of anxiety and depression. Representing the American Academy, Dr. “Immunization of children aged 5 to 11 years will not only help prevent Covid-19 infection and the serious consequences of infection in this age group, but will also help children emotionally and socially,” said Pamela Rockwell. Family Physicians at the CDC panel.

Still, about three out of 10 parents don’t get vaccinated For children aged 5 to 11, according to the most recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Only three out of 10 parents said they would vaccinate their children “immediately”, a percentage that was virtually unchanged since similar surveys in July and September.

Many other parents are eager to see their children vaccinated as quickly as possible. Anticipating the CDC’s decision, Biden administration enlisted More than 20,000 pediatricians, family doctors and pharmacies to administer vaccines. About 15 million doses have been shipped to vaccination sites across the country, federal officials said on Monday.

Children ages 5 to 11 will receive one-third of the dose allowed for ages 12 and older, and the vaccine will be packaged in smaller needles and smaller vials to avoid confusion with adult doses.

About half of the parents in the Kaiser survey said they were concerned about the tasks that would force them to vaccinate their children. Schools in all 50 states already require certain vaccines, but only emergency permits have so far been granted to those with full approval of FDA Covid vaccines for children.

California becomes the first state to say it will be this month needing children Those attending state and private schools to be vaccinated next fall—but only after the vaccine is fully approved by the FDA—Even in mandatory states, some students may opt out, citing medical reasons or religious beliefs. .

Before the FDA and CDC advisors met, they were bombarded with thousands of emails giving false information about the vaccine and asking experts to vote against it.

A common objection is that the potential harms of the vaccine may outweigh the benefits, as children rarely get sick from the virus. However, CDC scientists stated at the meeting that the risk to children was not zero.

Since the start of the epidemic, more than 8,300 children aged 5 to 11 have been hospitalized with Covid, and at least 94 have died. About one-third of the children hospitalized were ill enough to be admitted to intensive care units.

About 10 percent of children with mild symptoms may have problems that persist for months after the infection has resolved. And at least 2,300 children ages 5 to 11 developed a condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome following infection.

The CDC’s consultants also evaluated data on the risks of the vaccine. A senior researcher at Kaiser Permanente Colorado, Dr. Matthew Daley said that even without longer-term safety data, there is enough information to conclude that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.

“If we wait, we miss the chance to prevent many cases of Covid-19 in this age group, including very serious cases,” he said.

What You Need to Know About Covid-19 Booster Shots

The FDA has allowed booster shots for millions of buyers. Pfizer-BioNTech, modern and Johnson and Johnson vaccines. Pfizer and Moderna recipients who qualify for support include people aged 65 and over and young adults who are at high risk of serious Covid-19 due to medical conditions or where they work. Eligible Pfizer and Moderna recipients can receive a boost for at least six months after their second dose. All Johnson & Johnson recipients will be eligible for a second shoot at least two months after the first.

Yeah. The FDA has updated its mandate to allow medical providers to empower people with a different vaccine than the one they originally received. “Mix and Match.” You can get a booster for any other vaccine, whether you’ve received Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, or Pfizer-BioNTech. The regulators did not recommend any vaccine over the other as a booster. They also remained silent on whether it would be preferable to stick to the same vaccine whenever possible.

The CDC said conditions that qualify a person for a booster shot include: hypertension and heart disease; diabetes or obesity; cancer or blood diseases; weakened immune system; chronic lung, kidney, or liver disease; dementia and some disabilities. Pregnant women and current and former smokers are also eligible.

The FDA has allowed boosters for workers whose jobs put them at risk of exposure to potentially infectious humans. The CDC says the group includes: emergency health workers; education workers; food and agricultural workers; manufacturing workers; correction workers; US Postal Service employees; public transport workers; grocery workers.

Yeah. The CDC says the Covid vaccine can be administered regardless of the timing of other vaccines, and many pharmacy sites allow people to schedule a flu shot at the same time as a booster dose.

In a clinical trial of the vaccine in children, Pfizer initially tested the full adult dose and two small doses. The company decided on the smallest adult dose—one-third—because it had the fewest side effects and still produced at least as many antibodies as observed in younger adults given higher doses.

Dr. According to Alejandra Gurtman, the vaccine had an efficacy of more than 90 percent in children ages 5 to 11., A Pfizer vice president presenting the data at the meeting. Some children experienced fever, headache and fatigue, the same side effects seen in larger groups.

The FDA had asked Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna to expand the size of their pediatric trials to detect less common side effects of vaccines. Despite this, the Pfizer-BioNTech trial was not large enough to detect rare adverse events.

Experts on the CDC panel spent some time discussing a rare side effect of the vaccine called myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. The risk is highest in men aged 16 to 29, but the majority recover quickly, even in this group.

Experts said at the meeting that the risk drops in children aged 12-15 and is expected to be even lower in younger children. Covid itself much more likely Studies have shown that it causes myocarditis and a more severe version of it.

A CDC scientist who presented myocarditis data at the meeting, Dr. Matthew Oster said the CDC has not conclusively linked any deaths from myocarditis to vaccination. Dr. “I think catching Covid is much more risky for the heart than this vaccine, regardless of age and gender,” Oster said.

Considering the millions of Americans still unvaccinated, it’s unlikely that vaccinating young children will bring the country to the threshold of “herd immunity,” the point where it has stopped contracting the virus. Still, vaccinating children can help reduce the spread of the virus by providing fewer routes of entry into the community.

It can help protect transplant recipients, cancer patients, and other people who don’t respond well to vaccines. impaired immune responses.

Caring for immunocompromised people at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. “Too many children have lost a parent or are orphaned in this pandemic, which is incredibly tragic,” said Camille Kotton.

Results from a trial of the Pfizer vaccine in children under the age of 5 are not expected until the end of this year at the earliest. Last week, Moderna announced that its vaccine strong immune response in children aged 6 to 11 years who receive half the adult dose.

Moderna sought approval from the FDA in June for its vaccine to be used in children aged 12-17. The FDA has yet to make a decision on this application and is reviewing reports linking the vaccine to myocarditis. the company said Sunday.



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