The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that immunizations for children under the age of five will begin to be distributed this month in the United States.

The CDC stated on Wednesday that jurisdictions across the country should begin preparing for child vaccines. It advocated ordering supplies as soon as possible so that high-risk youngsters might receive immunizations as early as February 21. Since the beginning of the epidemic, nearly 12 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported in children in the United States.

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The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is scheduled to be released first, with Moderna’s vaccination for children under the age of five still in the works. According to Reuters, the vaccine has a 3-microgram dose, which is a lower dose than the current vaccination. Children aged 5 to 11 receive a dose of 10 micrograms, while those aged 12 and up receive a dose of 30 micrograms.

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The CDC had previously accepted Pfizer’s vaccine on a rolling basis. While the current vaccine is two doses, the business indicated in a statement on February 1 that it will be three doses, “data on a third dose given at least 8 weeks after completion of the second dose is expected in the coming months.”

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, over 632,000 instances of COVID in children were reported in the week ending February 3. Children account for between 1.6 percent and 4.7 percent of all COVID-19-related hospitalizations in the United States. While deaths among children infected with COVID-19 are infrequent, it is estimated that 0.24 percent of children who test positive for the virus die.

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Many parents of children under the age of five have been waiting for their children to get vaccinated. In January, a 15-month-old died of COVID-19, Newsweek had reported.

Another youngster, who was less than a year old at the time, was the virus’s youngest victim that month. While the vaccination will not be available to infants, it will be available to any baby over the age of six months.