The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is now meeting to discuss the US Food and Drug Administration. emergency use authorization For Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 years.
A vote is set to begin at 4:15 p.m. ET.
If the ACIP recommends vaccines and the CDC director signs it, vaccination for that age group can begin immediately.
Where can children get the vaccine?
The same places they get flu vaccines are at their pediatricians’ offices, at local pharmacies, and perhaps at some schools.
“It’s the pediatrician’s wheelhouse,” Dr. David Kimberlin, who helps lead the Pediatric Infectious Disease Division at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told CNN.
“We’re trying to enroll pediatricians and that’s a key strategy,” Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, told CNN’s Jacqueline Howard.
One possible pinch point is the vaccine’s small dosage, which means young children may not be given doses in stock for adults and adolescents.
The children’s vaccine is expected to be shipped in packages of 100 doses, much smaller than the 1,170-dose packages used for adult vaccines.
“The fact that they are going in smaller packaging and smaller shipping quantities is really great news,” Hannan said. It will become easier to manage doctors’ offices.
The CDC notes that government websites help people find places to get vaccinated.
“Find the vaccine. CDC advises.
“I think the real key is to get enough parents interested in getting their kids vaccinated,” Kimberlin said.
In addition, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Gents said the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program for children ages 5 to 11 will be fully operational next week.
“While vaccination may begin this weekend, the program will still be running at its full strength, with millions more doses packed, shipped and delivered and thousands of additional sites coming online every day,” Ziants said in a statement on Monday. In view of this, 15 million doses are being shipped, he said in the briefing.
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