CDC panel to review Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for 12-15 age range
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UPDATE: US advisers endorse Pfizer COVID shot for kids 12 and up
Wednesday, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel is expected to review the use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 12 to 15 years old.
It comes after the Food and Drug Administration gave the shot approval for emergency use on Monday.
Pfizer COVID-19 shot expanded to US children as young as 12
Parents of children in this age group know they need all kinds of vaccines. What the CDC board is looking at now is whether providers can give some of those different shots around the same time.
They want to know that before moving forward.
Olivia Edwards, left, 13, of Flourtown, Pa., looks through photos of her sister, Kate Edwards, 15, getting a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination at a Montgomery County, Pa. Office of Public Health vaccination clinic at the King of Prussia Mall, Tuesday, May 11, 2021, in King of Prussia.[AP Photo/Matt Slocum]
"We want to make sure we have that information. They may in fact say it’s fine to receive a COVID-19 vaccine even if you recently got another booster or were going to get your meningococcal vaccine or something like that," Kris Ehresmann, with the Minnesota Department of Health, said. "So that’s the kind of specific guidance for the health care provider that we’re really interested in."
Ehresmann said while the FDA has given the green light, Minnesota providers want a little more information when it comes to how the shots will be distributed in a clinic setting.
They’re expecting the CDC advisory board to issue those recommendations Wednesday.
The FDA has said the Pfizer vaccine is 100% effective in children 12 to 15 years old.
Clinical trials are being held to analyze how the vaccine will work for younger children who are 6 months to 11 years old. Both Pfizer and Moderna have trials happening right now looking at whether those younger kids need different doses than teens and adults.
"We hope to have some data in the 11 (year old) and under (age range) by the fall and would be anticipated then." Dr. William Gruber, Pfizer SVP of vaccine clinical research and development, said. "Of course, it would undergo the same type of review and perhaps as early as the end of the year would be in a position where that vaccine could be made available, at least of the 5- to 11-year-olds, if not younger age groups, but certainly by the early part of next year."
As for children in the 12 to 15 age group, Children’s Minnesota says they expect to be ready to start giving out doses by Thursday.
MDH recommends providers wait until later in week for COVID-19 vaccinations for kids ages 12-15