Healthcare & PharmaceuticalsCDC panel clears way to COVID-19 vaccines for U.S. adolescents
Michael ErmanManojna Maddipatla
3 minute read
U.S. states are set to begin using the vaccine from Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and BioNTech SE to inoculate younger adolescents against COVID-19 after advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) backed the plan in a unanimous vote on Wednesday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday authorized the vaccine for children aged 12 to 15, offering relief to parents eager to get their children back to schools and summer camps. The action by the CDC group is an important, but not required, final seal of federal regulatory approval.
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CDC panel clears way to COVID-19 vaccines for US adolescents
Grace Peterson, 14, is inoculated with Pfizer s vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) after Georgia authorized the vaccine for ages over 12 years, at Dekalb Pediatric Center in Decatur, Georgia, US May 11, 2021. (Photo: REUTERS/Chris Aluka Berry)
13 May 2021 07:20AM (Updated:
13 May 2021 07:21AM) Share this content
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US states are set to begin using the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech to inoculate young adolescents against COVID-19 after advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) backed the plan in a unanimous vote on Wednesday (May 12).
CDC Panel Endorses Pfizer Vaccine for Adolescents as Young as 12
A federal advisory panel approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine on younger adolescents aged 12 to 15 years old on May 12.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which offers assistance to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), voted unanimously 14-0 in favor of the vaccine, saying that after evaluating trial evidence, it showed no cases of severe allergic reactions or Bell’s Palsy on the age group, and that none of them contracted COVID-19.
“This will provide protection for 12 to 15-year-olds,” Dr. Henry Bernstein, a member of the advisory committee and professor of pediatrics at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, said.
The U.S. is set to begin using the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech to inoculate younger adolescents against COVID-19 after advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backed the plan in a unanimous vote on Wednesday.
Article In Brief
In the wake of blood-clotting disorders in six young women who had been vaccinated with the single Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, neurovascular neurologists and hematologists address questions about assessing risks and managing the side effects.
Neurologists are getting queries from anxious patients in the aftermath of a nationwide “temporary” pause in administration of the single-shot Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Janssen vaccine were administered around the country. Two days later, it climbed to 7.2 million doses.
The pause, requested by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 13, came in the wake of reports that six young women, ages 18 to 48, had developed serious blood clotting problems after receiving the vaccine. At press time, one woman had died, four others had not recovered yet, and one woman was discharged home.