Your kids could be one step closer to getting vaccinated. An FDA panel is meeting Tuesday to consider Pfizer's COVID vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11.
Data from Pfizer shows a shot is more than 90% effective against symptomatic disease — not just hospitalization and death — for kids in that age range.
The FDA panel is going to be considering the safety and efficacy data of Pfizer's vaccine specifically for this age group. And the process going forward is going to look a lot like what we have already seen in these emergency use authorizations. The committee is going to make its recommendations before the FDA
issues an emergency use authorization. At that point, manufacturers will begin shipping out doses and getting them into the supply lines, but doses likely won't begin to be administered until the CDC issues its guidance. The CDC is planning to meet and vote on this next week.
The White House unveiled its plan last week for rolling this out. They say they are already working with over 25,000 pediatrician's offices and 100 children's hospitals across the country to get these vaccines into the arms of children. The White
House also says they've been working with state and local governments to set up vaccine clinics at local schools. That's something that would make it a lot more convenient for parents to get their children vaccinated. And of course they'll continue to work with their federal pharmacy partners as well as community health centers in rural health centers to administer children's
vaccines. The White House says they are prepared to ship out around 15 million doses in the first week after that emergency use authorization.
Recent polling shows most parents are willing to get their children vaccinated, but about a third say they're not ready yet to get their children vaccinated. A recent poll from Ipsos breaks down the numbers a little bit more: 11% say they are not very likely to get their kids vaccinated under age 12. This poll also asked parents what would persuade them to vaccinate their children, and 25% of parents with unvaccinated 12- to 18-year-olds said a vaccine mandate from their children's school would help convince them, followed by another 23% who said full approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
