What is the CDC saying about COVID vaccine for kids?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently made a statement about the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine being available for kids ages 12-15.
On Wednesday, the FDA expanded the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Here is what the CDC says about the COVID vaccine for kids.
The CDC recommends that kids who are these ages get this vaccine, and they would like them to get the vaccine right away.
The CDC and COVID-19
The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine was pushed for quick approval to get kids as young as 12 fully vaccinated. The CDC feels that the children between 12-15 could help us win the fight against COVID-19.
The Pfizer vaccine was previously approved for those ages 16 and older. Studies show that this vaccine is 100% effective for children ages 12- 15.
There are 17 million children ages 12-15 living in the United States. This is about five percent of the population.
The Food and Drug Administration had already given the green flag for the vaccine last Monday to a few states. Those states included Georgia, Delaware, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.
The FDA had given certain providers to go-ahead to start giving vaccines to children 12 years and up. With the vaccines becoming available for younger ages, the schools reopening will become a reality.
This will be a massive step for the states to get the kids back in school and usually function. Statistics show that about a third of 13-14-year-olds are in school virtually.
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COVID Vaccine for Kids
Virtual learning has been a challenge for many, especially children with special needs requirements. In addition to the CDC saying about the COVID vaccine for kids, the Biden administration wants to work with the CDC. It states to get more vaccines out to pediatricians and family practices.
They want to make sure that providers have the Pfizer vaccine available and at local pharmacies as well.
The CDC would like to add a new school program this year to get those children and teens vaccinated. They believe this will give everyone in the community more immunity, especially if the families have teens in their homes.
The FDA reviewed Pfizer’s data before approving the vaccine. They found that the clinical trials found the vaccines safe and effective in children of these ages.
97.9% of adolescents were shown to have produced enough antibodies in the month after shot number two.
However, many parents aren’t quite sure about getting the vaccines for their children. Parents seem skittish when it comes to their kids getting the vaccine.
The CDC reports that this vaccine is essential to children to help keep the virus under control. This vaccine is necessary, just like the vaccines for tetanus, whooping cough, and other health threats.
Many states are taking this very seriously and even sending vaccines to schools in their area. Pfizer is the only company that has lowered the ages for the vaccine. Moderna is doing some trials and just starting to get results from their studies.
How old do you have to be to get the vaccine?
Up until last week, the age range for getting the vaccine was 16 and older. On Wednesday, it was announced that children ages 12-15 were also eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
There has been no word on any research or clinical trials on younger children as of yet. With this vaccine, children as young as 12 are eligible.
Kids had side effects that were almost the same as young adults. Most of the side effects observed were feeling achy, fever, chills, fatigue, and headaches. These were reported after the second dose.
These side effects lasted 1-3 days. Even though there were side effects after the vaccine, not everyone experienced side effects. The side effects vary from person to person.
Some clinical trials are being performed with younger children ages 6 to 11. However, there are no results for these yet, and the companies need to do a lot more research to get those ages approved.
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Will children be allowed to get the vaccine?
As of now, over half a million kids, who are ages 12-15, have gotten the COVID vaccine. It has been about one week since it was announced that the Pfizer vaccine was approved for this age group.
Even though children ages 12-15 are now eligible for the vaccine, many parents are concerned about vaccine safety. Children who are younger than 12 have not been given the go-ahead for vaccines as of now.
There are still many research and clinical trials that the companies need to perform until the younger ages can get vaccinated.
Pfizer and the other vaccine-making companies are focused on more clinical trials for younger ages and would like to make the vaccines available for children as early as six months old. This is a goal they want to reach by fall.
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Summary
To sum it all up, the CDC and FDA announced the Pfizer vaccine is now available for children ages 12-15. The age range was ages 16 and up since December of last year.
With this vaccine readily available for younger-aged children, the threat of COVID-19 spreading as quickly has decreased. Things are looking up as far as getting the population vaccinated and possibly having our lives back to some form of normalcy soon.
With the vaccination age for the Pfizer vaccine going down to ages 12 to 15, we have come a long way since the beginning of the pandemic.
With the help of Pfizer, the CDC, and the FDA, we could all soon have a supermarket visit without masks and without the fear of getting sick.
The thought of children returning to their schools one day would be great news. This is something that we should all be looking forward to in the long run.
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