CDC director signs off on COVID-19 vaccine for kids 5 to 11
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky has signed off on administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11.
Walensky's final approval came after the Food and Drug Administration authorized and a CDC panel formally recommended shots for kids — a dose that is a third of the amount given to teenagers and adults. There are 28 million American children between the ages of 5 and 11, and this is their first opportunity to get vaccinated against COVID.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
President Biden praised the decision as a "turning point," which will "allow parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids, and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others. It is a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus."
The CDC said the vaccination of children should begin "as soon as possible," with kids getting two doses three weeks apart, administered via a smaller needle. Pediatric vials have orange caps, so they are not mixed up with the vials that are meant for adults and have purple caps, The Associated Press reports. Pfizer's study of 2,268 kids found that the smaller dose is almost 91 percent effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19.
-
Metaverse: Zuckerberg quits his virtual obsessionFeature The tech mogul’s vision for virtual worlds inhabited by millions of users was clearly a flop
-
Frank Gehry: the architect who made buildings flow like waterFeature The revered building master died at the age of 96
-
Is MAGA melting down?Today's Big Question Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Laura Loomer and more are feuding
-
A fentanyl vaccine may be on the horizonUnder the radar Taking a serious jab at the opioid epidemic
-
Health: Will Kennedy dismantle U.S. immunization policy?Feature ‘America’s vaccine playbook is being rewritten by people who don’t believe in them’
-
How dangerous is the ‘K’ strain super-flu?The Explainer Surge in cases of new variant H3N2 flu in UK and around the world
-
Vaccine critic quietly named CDC’s No. 2 officialSpeed Read Dr. Ralph Abraham joins another prominent vaccine critic, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
This flu season could be worse than usualIn the spotlight A new subvariant is infecting several countries
-
Covid-19 mRNA vaccines could help fight cancerUnder the radar They boost the immune system
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the riseThe Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
