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The safety of the vaccine was studied in more than 3,000 children and no serious side effects were detected.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the vaccine's safety. The FDA on Friday authorized Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children aged 5 to 11 years.
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In the U.S., COVID-19 cases among children aged 5 to 11 years account for 39% of children under 18 years of age. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 8,300 cases of coronavirus in children between 5 and 11 years of age resulted in hospitalization.
As of 17 October, 691 deaths from the virus were reported in the U.S. in children under 18 and 146 in the 5- to 11-year-old age group, according to the FDA statement.
“As a parent and as a physician, I know that parents, caregivers, teachers, and children have been anxiously awaiting this clearance,” Janet Woodcock, acting FDA commissioner, said in a statement.
“Vaccinating young children against COVID-19 is an additional step toward a return to normalcy,” she added.
NEW: @US_FDA approves emergency authorization for Pfizer’s #COVID19 vaccine for kids 5-11 years old. Big news in the fight against #COVID19 among children. https://t.co/WpQCuWfwId
— Claudia Kelly-Bazan (@ClaudiaKellyB) October 29, 2021
A committee of independent experts on Tuesday endorsed immunizing children between the ages of 5 and 11 with Pfizer's vaccine, which in clinical trials demonstrated 90.7% efficacy in preventing symptomatic forms of COVID-19 in that age group.
Before inoculation begins, a committee of experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet next week to give its opinion and publish its recommendations, the final step in the process.
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