News Update

Centers for Disease Control approval brings Covid vaccine for kids one step closer

Vaccine advisors to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, according to CNN.

On Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in children ages 5 to 11, saying that clinical trials of the vaccine showed that the vaccine was 90.7% effective in preventing Covid-19 in children in children ages 5 to 11.

Only one step remains before Covid vaccinations can begin for children in the United States — CDC Director Rochelle Walensky must sign off on the vaccines. The doctor has indicated she plans to do so, according to the news report.

California is prepared to begin vaccinating children as soon as Walensky gives the vaccine her final approval. State officials say they have met with officials at more than 1,000 school districts in anticipation of opening vaccine clinics on school campuses. California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Mark Ghaly said he expects 1.2 million doses of the vaccine will be available for children in that age group.