All Approvals In, US All Set To Start Covid Vaccination Drive For Children Aged 5 to 11 Years

<p><strong>New Delhi: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">The United States is all set to roll out Covid-19 vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 years, with the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tuesday recommending paediatric Covid vaccine for the age group.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This announcement came hours after outside advisers to the CDC unanimously backed the move, saying the vaccine&rsquo;s benefits outweigh the risks, and days after the US Food and Drug Administration authorised Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for young children.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the shot given to those aged 12 and older is 30 micrograms, the FDA authorised a 10-microgram dose in the young children, media reports said.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Pfizer and BioNTech claim their vaccine showed 90.7 per cent efficacy in a clinical trial of the drug in children aged 5 to 11, according to reports.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a statement, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said: "We know millions of parents are eager to get their children vaccinated and with this decision, we now have recommended that about 28 million children receive a COVID-19 vaccine."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The vote was unanimous because the evidence is so clear. Kids 5 to 11 are better off vaccinated," Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, who was not a member of the CDC panel, said on Twitter after the vote.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">CDC's vaccine expert advisory committee voted<br /><br />14 to 0<br /><br />in favor of vaccinating all kids ages 5 to 11<br /><br />These are our nation's leading physicians and scientists<br /><br />Most are also parents<br /><br />The vote was unanimous because the evidence is so clear<br /><br />Kids 5 to 11 are better off vaccinated</p> &mdash; Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) <a href="https://twitter.com/ashishkjha/status/1455642962952605702?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <p> <script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async="" charset="utf-8"></script> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">President Joe Biden called the authorisation a turning point in the battle against the pandemic.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&ldquo;The program will ramp up over the coming days, and fully up and running during the week of November 8,&rdquo; Biden said in a statement.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">He said &ldquo;thousands of pharmacies, pediatrician&rsquo;s offices, schools, and other sites&rdquo; would be equipped to vaccinate children.</span></p> <h3><strong>'A Herculean effort'</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The US government and Pfizer have started distributing the vaccine for a widespread rollout for children.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"We've shipped to dozens of states already over the weekend and Monday. There is a Herculean effort so there will be doses available everywhere," a Reuters report quoted Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla as saying in an interview.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In India, the subject expert committee (SEC) of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) recently recommended emergency use of Covaxin to inoculate children aged 2-18 years against the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While Bharat Biotech, which makes the vaccine, has submitted data from phase 3 trials of the drug, involving children, a final nod from the DCGI is awaiting.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to reports, the Bharat Biotech data showed the efficacy rate of the Covaxin shot among children at 77.8 per cent, similar to that among adults.</span></p>