BREAKING NEWS: CDC advisory committee recommends Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds
- CDC’s advisory committee recommended on Wednesday that Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine be administered to children ages 12 to 15
- With the recommendation, most states will likely begin giving out the shot to younger teenagers on Thursday
- It comes two days after the FDA approved Pfizer’s vaccine for 12- to-15 year-olds for emergency use
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) advisory committee has voted to recommend Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine be administered to children ages 12 to 15.
On Wednesday, 14 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted ‘yes’ and one member recused herself.
It comes two days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the shot for emergency use in younger teens.
The vaccine was authorized for Americans aged 16 and older in December 2020 and Pfizer has been in trials for teens since October of last year.
With the formal recommendation from ACIP, most states will likely begin giving out the shot to younger teenagers on Thursday
Expanding vaccine availability to younger teenagers will make about 17 million additional Americans eligible for vaccination, a step that some see as critical to reaching herd immunity and improving safety as children return to school.
However, some parents and experts have questioned whether vaccinating children is really for their own benefit, or if it is risking the effects of a new vaccine in kids in order to protect adults, when only 0.1 percent of U.S. Covid fatalities have been in people under 18.
CDC’s advisory committee recommended that Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine be administered to children ages 12 to 15
In Pfizer’s phase III clinical trial, about 2,200 teenagers were enrolled in the U.S. compared to 40,000 for the aged 16 and older trial.
Half of the group received two doses of the vaccine three weeks apart and the other half were given two placebo injections.
A total of 18 cases of COVID-19 were reported in the placebo group while no cases were reported in the vaccine group.
This means that the vaccine was 100 percent safe and effective in 12-to-15-year-olds, according to the researchers.
What’s more, side effects were similar to those seen in the larger trial among 16-to-25-year-olds, including pain at the injection site, tiredness, fever and headaches.
At the time, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the hope was ‘starting to vaccinate this age group before the start of the next school year.
Researchers plan to track participants for two years to collect information long-term protection, effects and safety.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.