United States Approves Pfizer Vaccines For Children Aged 5-11

Children aged 5-11 in the United States will be able to receive the Pfizer vaccine as early as this week. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed the vaccine, voting unanimously to approve the vaccine. “Vaccination was nearly 91 percent effective in preventing Covid-19 among children aged 5-11 years,” the CDC said.

The Delta variant lead to a surge in cases amongst children in the US, with hospitalisations increasing 5-fold between late June and mid-August. The vaccine side effects in children were mild, self-limiting, and similar to those seen in adults, although children will only be given about one-third of the adult dose. Australia’s medical regulator has estimated that we could approve the Pfizer vaccine for children by the end of November, if there are no issues.