Turning point in battle, says Biden after CDC approves Pfizer for kids

United States President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the US has reached a “turning point” in the battle against COVID-19 after Pfizer received the final nod of US health officials Tuesday to administer coronavirus vaccine shots to children aged five to 11 years old. The approval has paved the way for a nationwide vaccination campaign for children across the country.

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The president said that vaccinating younger children will allow “parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids, and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others. It is a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus.”

While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had already authorised vaccinations for children belonging to the age-group, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had the final say Tuesday.

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Children in this age-group will be one-third the dose being administered to teens and adults. Approving the jab, CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky issued a statement saying, “Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus that causes COVID-19.”

“We know millions of parents are eager to get their children vaccinated and with this decision, we now have recommended that about 28 million children receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” the CDC director added.

As a parent she encouraged everyone else to get their child vaccinated. She added, “As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated.”

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The vaccines will be distributed all over the country this week and will be available at full capacity from the following week, as per a tweet from the CDC director.

More than 8,300 children belonging to the age group were hospitalised after being diagnosed with the coronavirus in the US and at least 94 deaths were reported. Experts worry that another wave of the virus with increased travel during the holiday season will increase the risk of infection.