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Children under the age of 5 are scheduled to receive Covid vaccinations as early as June 21, a senior health official told the press on Thursday.
White House Covid response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said that the current administration would appropriate 10 million vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna to states, community health centers, and pharmacies.
Individual states can make their orders starting Friday. Dr. Jha announced. However, the health official clarified that the vaccines might only be shipped as long as there is approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Jha clarified that the FDA has yet to approve the rolling out of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines after it reviews the data gathered last June 15. Should the FDA give the go-signal, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would then give recommendations authorizing the shots.
According to Jha, the vaccination initiative will be long, and it will take some time to perfect since it is in its initial phase. However, parents should be able secure slots for their children within weeks after the rollout.
In a White House briefing, Jha told reporters, “We’re going to ship doses out as fast as possible.”
“We’re going to make sure that supply is always meeting demand. And we’re going to do everything we can to make it easy for providers and parents alike to get their kids vaccinated.”
Parents have long expected the FDA to authorize vaccinations for children under the age of 5. To date, the age group is the only one left that is not legally permitted to receive the vaccination.
Covid has less severe effects on children than on adults. However, during the omicron surge, hospitalization of children was five times higher than adults, the CDC reported.
Drugmaker Pfizer has told the public that their vaccine for children aged six months to 4 years old has shown 80% effectiveness against the omicron variant.
Meanwhile, Moderna has also announced that their vaccine is 51% effective against infection in children under two years old and 37% among children 2 to 5 years old.
Children will be able to access the vaccine shots before the fall if the FDA authorizes the shots in June. There is a looming new wave of Covid infections, say health officials, and parents are waiting eagerly to protect their children in case that happens.
Opinions expressed by NY Weekly contributors are their own.
