CDC advisers back use of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in adolescents
Angelica LaVito and Riley Griffin
Bloomberg
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A group of medical experts said children ages 12 to 15 years old can safely take the Covid-19 vaccine made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, opening an important new phase of the U.S. immunization effort.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 14 to 0, with one recusal, on Wednesday to support the two-dose vaccine’s emergency authorization after it was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky must now sign off on the recommendation before it becomes final.
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Adolescents ages 12 to 15 should get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and they can get their other routine vaccinations along with it, a federal advisory committee said Wednesday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention s panel met to discuss the safety, immune response and effectiveness of the vaccine in this age group, after the Food and Drug Administration signed off Monday on the shots.
The same Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices last December signed off on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for adults and teens ages 16 to 17. Fourteen members of the panel on Wednesday endorsed lowering the age limit to 12, with one member recusing herself.
Bloomberg
A baseball fan gets a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during an Atlanta Braves baseball game at Truist Park in Atlanta, Ga., on Friday, May 7, 2021.
A group of medical experts said children ages 12 to 15 years old can safely take the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, opening an important new phase of the U.S. immunization effort.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 14-0, with one recusal, on Wednesday to support the two-dose vaccine s emergency authorization after it was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky must now sign off on the recommendation before it becomes final.
May 12, 2021, 1:17 PM – Updated on May 12, 2021, 9:29 PM
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 14 to 0, with one recusal, on Wednesday to support the two-dose vaccine’s emergency authorization after it was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky must now sign off on the recommendation before it becomes final.
The vaccine could be deployed to teens as soon as Thursday in a move that’s long been anticipated as paving the way for the mass vaccination of middle and high-school students before the next school year begins.