EFE.- A scientific panel of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, in English) of the United States recommended the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 for children between 5 and 11 years old, with which the administration of this serum could begin in the next few days in the country.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) gave its approval unanimously, and now it only remains for CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to stamp her signature on the final decision so that the vaccine is definitively approved for use. emergency in that age group.
Read: EU authorizes Pfizer vaccine for children 5 to 11 years with a lower dose
Walenksy herself was in charge of opening the meeting of ACIP, which is an independent group of experts that advises the CDC, with an intervention in which she defended the vaccination of children.
The CDC director noted that during the recent wave of the delta variant, pediatric admissions have skyrocketed in US hospitals.
According to data from the CDC, since the beginning of the pandemic, 1.9 million cases of COVID-19 have been registered among children between 5 and 11 years old, 8,300 hospitalizations and 94 deaths.
Added to them are 2,316 cases of children of those ages who have suffered a multisystemic inflammatory syndrome, which involves inflammation of several organs and is a complication derived from COVID-19.
Before proceeding to the vote, several ACIP members mentioned the impact the pandemic has had on minors.
“Too many children have lost a father or become orphans in this pandemic, which is incredibly tragic, so as an infectious disease specialist and a mother with two vaccinated children, I fully support the recommendation of this vaccine for this age,” Dr. Camille Kotton said.
The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine for children between 5 and 11 years old – which will be 10 milligrams, a third of the serum of adults – will not be administered in large immunization centers, but in pediatric clinics and pharmacies.
The US government reported this week that it had already secured sufficient doses of serum for the 28 million children between those ages, so that from next week the vaccination of minors will be “fully operational.”
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already authorized the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine for emergency use in children between 5 and 11 years old last Friday.
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