BREAKING: US expands use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, paving way for children as young as 12 to get shots.
FILE - This Jan. 24, 2021, file photo shows a vial of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 in Seattle. U.S. regulators on Monday, May 10, 2021, expanded use of Pfizer's shot to those as young as 12, sparking a race to protect middle and high school students before they head back to class in the fall.
Vaccinating children of all ages will be critical to a return to normalcy. Most COVID-19 vaccines rolling out worldwide have been authorized for adults. Pfizer’s vaccine is being used in multiple countries for teens as young as 16, and Canada recently became the first to expand use to 12 and up. Parents, school administrators and public health officials elsewhere are anxiously awaiting the shot to become available to more kids.
Pfizer’s testing in adolescents “met our rigorous standards,” said FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks. “Having a vaccine authorized for a younger population is a critical step in continuing to lessen the immense public health burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.” “I can’t feel totally comfortable because my boys aren’t vaccinated,” said Carrie Vittitoe, a substitute teacher and freelance writer in Louisville, Kentucky, who is fully vaccinated as are her husband and 17-year-old daughter.
Next up is testing whether the vaccine works for even younger children. Both Pfizer and Moderna have begun U.S. studies in children ages 6 months to 11 years. Those studies explore whether babies, preschoolers and elementary-age kids will need different doses than teens and adults. Gruber said Pfizer expects its first results sometime in the fall.
That’s not counting the toll of family members becoming ill or dying -- or the disruption to school, sports and other activities so crucial to children’s overall well-being.
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