The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel has voted to allow emergency use authorization of Pfizer's shot in kids ages 5 to 11.Shots could start in a matter of days if the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention go ahead with committee recommendations. Of the 18 voting members, it was unanimous with 17 yes votes and one abstention."Based on the totality of the evidence, the benefits do outweigh the risks,” NCIRD Chief Medical Officer Amanda Cohn said. The FDA panel recommends Pfizer’s two shots 21-days apart, at one-third the dose given to other Americans. Pfizer's data shows its vaccine is more than 90% effective at preventing severe symptomatic infections. Dr. Chris Peltier with Pediatric Associates of Mt. Carmel and is the president of the Ohio chapter of the American Association of Pediatricians, says it has been a long wait. “In a word, relief. We've been waiting on this for a while now. So, this is a huge group of patients 5 to 11-year-olds that have not been able to have access to the vaccine which means they are at risk for getting COVID,” Peltier said. While the vaccine has been shown to cause rare cases of a mild inflammation of the heart in some older teens and young adults, there were no documented cases in the study of 5 to 11-years-old. Doctors say the risk is higher from getting COVID-19 along with other impacts in day-to-day life.“In addition and probably on a bigger scale, even though kids aren't getting as sick from COVID, if they're getting COVID they're having to miss school,” Peltier said. A recent poll shows only a third of parents plan to get their children vaccinated right away. That's worrying for many doctors who say vaccinating elementary-aged kids will be key in getting the pandemic under control for good. Peltier says the orders are already on standby for our area.“Actually, through the state of Ohio, the Ohio Department of Health, many pediatricians, including my practice, we have already placed our first order for the vaccine," he said.Peltier, not only recommends getting the vaccine, but says to go ahead and call your pediatrician to see if they'll have it available. If they don't, he says to check around for vaccine clinics which are already being worked on.It's now up to the FDA to decide whether to follow the advisory committee's recommendation. A CDC committee will meet next week to also decide on vaccine approval. If that panel recommends emergency use authorization and the CDC director follows with a thumbs up, shots could start as early as the end of next week.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel has voted to allow emergency use authorization of Pfizer's shot in kids ages 5 to 11.
Shots could start in a matter of days if the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention go ahead with committee recommendations. Of the 18 voting members, it was unanimous with 17 yes votes and one abstention.
"Based on the totality of the evidence, the benefits do outweigh the risks,” NCIRD Chief Medical Officer Amanda Cohn said.
The FDA panel recommends Pfizer’s two shots 21-days apart, at one-third the dose given to other Americans. Pfizer's data shows its vaccine is more than 90% effective at preventing severe symptomatic infections. Dr. Chris Peltier with Pediatric Associates of Mt. Carmel and is the president of the Ohio chapter of the American Association of Pediatricians, says it has been a long wait.
“In a word, relief. We've been waiting on this for a while now. So, this is a huge group of patients 5 to 11-year-olds that have not been able to have access to the vaccine which means they are at risk for getting COVID,” Peltier said.
While the vaccine has been shown to cause rare cases of a mild inflammation of the heart in some older teens and young adults, there were no documented cases in the study of 5 to 11-years-old. Doctors say the risk is higher from getting COVID-19 along with other impacts in day-to-day life.
“In addition and probably on a bigger scale, even though kids aren't getting as sick from COVID, if they're getting COVID they're having to miss school,” Peltier said.
A recent poll shows only a third of parents plan to get their children vaccinated right away. That's worrying for many doctors who say vaccinating elementary-aged kids will be key in getting the pandemic under control for good. Peltier says the orders are already on standby for our area.
“Actually, through the state of Ohio, the Ohio Department of Health, many pediatricians, including my practice, we have already placed our first order for the vaccine," he said.
Peltier, not only recommends getting the vaccine, but says to go ahead and call your pediatrician to see if they'll have it available. If they don't, he says to check around for vaccine clinics which are already being worked on.
It's now up to the FDA to decide whether to follow the advisory committee's recommendation. A CDC committee will meet next week to also decide on vaccine approval.
If that panel recommends emergency use authorization and the CDC director follows with a thumbs up, shots could start as early as the end of next week.
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