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A nationwide role out began today to get children under five vaccinated, with kids as young as three having the Covid vaccine injected into their arms.
The Center for Disease Control authorized the Covid vaccine for children under five years old Saturday and recommended it for babies of just 6 months, even though state-level reports show that 0.00 – 0.02 per cent of all child Covid-19 cases resulted in death.
Parents were queueing up to bring their kids to doctors in Pennsylvania who were holding a clinic to get them vaccinated with the Moderna jab, which a panel of advisors to the CDC voted unanimously to authorize 12-0 on Saturday.
The US joins China, Bahrain, Cuba, and Venezuela on a motley list of nations that vaccinate their under-fives.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized Moderna Inc’s shot for children aged six months to five years, and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for children aged six months to four years. Pfizer’s vaccine is already authorized for children over the age of five.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky couldn’t keep the smile from her face as she officially signed off on the Covid-19 vaccines for babies as young as six months old.
Jade O’Brien, 4, receives the Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Skippack Pharmacy in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania
A 3-year-old receives the Moderna vaccine. A nationwide role out began today to get children under five vaccinated, even though state-level reports show that 0.00 – 0.02 per cent of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in death
Parents were queueing up to bring their kids to doctors in Pennsylvania who were holding a clinic to get them vaccinated with the Moderna jab, which a panel of advisors to the CDC voted unanimously to authorize 12-0 on Saturday
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized Moderna Inc’s shot for children aged six months to five years, and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for children aged six months to four years. Pfizer’s vaccine is already authorized for children over the age of five
Following the approval, Walensky posted a clip on Twitter where she said: ‘Nearly 20 million children are now able to get vaccinated against Covid-19. I know many parents with very young children have been anticipating this day.’
Walensky continued: ‘We now know, based on rigorous scientific review, that the vaccines available here in the United States can be used can be used safely and effectively in children under five. Vaccinating children is a critical opportunity to protect them against hospitalization and death from Covid-19.’
Just over half of parents of children in this age range say they do not have enough information about the vaccines’ safety and effectiveness for children under age 5.
Polling for KFF found that only about one in five parents of children under age 5 (18%) are eager to get their child vaccinated right away, while a larger share (38%) say they plan to wait a while to see how the vaccine is working for others.
About four in ten parents of children under 5 are more reluctant to get their child vaccinated, with 27% saying they will ‘definitely not’ get their child vaccinated and 11% saying they will only do so if they are required.
For children ages one through four years old, Covid-19 is the fifth leading cause of death.
The same data says that hospitalizations of that age group spiked during December 2021 at the height of the Omicron wave.
But for the vast majority of children infected by COVID, the symptoms are exceptionally mild.
Nina Jayawickreme, 4, seems to squirm as she receives her injection from Dr. Mayank Amin
Conversely, young children are at risk of a rare but potentially serious – and even deadly – inflammation of the heart linked to COVID vaccines called myocarditis.
Millions of American children have already been infected with COVID and recovered, further complicating the issue, as an infection is believed to leave people with at least a few months of immunity.
That has left many parents weighing up whether to vaccinate their child, although experts have urged them to do so.
The shot will also be welcomed by parents of under-fives with underlying conditions that leave the vulnerable to potentially-serious side effects from COVID.
And the virus itself is also found to have caused a rare but serious inflammatory disorder dubbed MIS-C, meaning some parents may opt to get their children the shot to try and protect them from that condition.
In a statement, Walensky said: ‘Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against COVID-19.’
The director added: ‘We know millions of parents and caregivers are eager to get their young children vaccinated, and with today’s decision, they can.’
‘I encourage parents and caregivers with questions to talk to their doctor, nurse, or local pharmacist to learn more about the benefits of vaccinations and the importance of protecting their children by getting them vaccinated.’
According to the CDC’s own statistics, 442 children ages four and under have died in the US from Covid-19
In her statement, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said: ‘Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against COVID-19’
For children ages 1 through 4 years old, Covid-19 is the fifth leading cause of death
President Joe Biden has said that the national rollout for children will begin after the holiday weekend
‘This infection kills children and we have an opportunity to prevent that,’ Beth Bell, one of the doctors on the CDC panel, said following the vote. ‘Here is an opportunity to prevent a known risk.’
President Joe Biden’s administration plans to roll out the vaccines to the under five age groups from today following the Juneteenth holiday weekend.
‘We will begin shipping millions of vaccine doses for kids to thousands of locations parents know and trust – including pediatricians’ offices, children’s hospitals, and pharmacies,’ Biden said in a statement on Friday.
‘As doses are delivered, parents will be able to start scheduling vaccinations for their youngest kids as early as next week, with appointments ramping up over the coming days and weeks.’
Biden’s Covid tsar, Dr. Ashish Jha, has said that there will be ten million doses available for babies and children.
According to the census bureau, there are 20 million children aged between six months and five years old in the United States.
Production of the Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5 in Puurs, Belgium
Biden’s Covid tsar, Dr. Ashish Jha, has said that there will be 10 million doses available for babies and children
Dr. Matthew Daley, a senior clinician investigator at Kaiser Permanente’s Institute of Health Research, said on Friday that those over the age of five who are not vaccinated were ten times more likely for die from Covid-19.
Dr. Daley did not say what the fatality rates were for unvaccinated children under the age of five.
While many parents in the United States are eager to vaccinate their children, it is unclear how strong demand will be for the shots.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized for children aged five to 11 in October, but only about 29% of that group is so far fully vaccinated, federal data shows.
CVS Health Corp plans to provide vaccines to children aged 18 months and older while Rite Aid Corp and Walmart Inc plan to offer these shots for kids who are at least three years old. Infants are traditionally vaccinated at a doctor’s office.
Public health officials have been pushing for childhood vaccinations ahead of the new school year as they hope shots for the age group will help prevent hospitalizations and deaths if COVID-19 cases rise again.
The CDC advisers will meet again next week to consider whether to back use of the Moderna vaccine for children and adolescents aged six-17.
There has been some concern about the rate of rare cases of heart inflammation in teenage boys and young men from the Moderna vaccine, and the advisers are expected to consider that data.
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