In the wake of an FDA advisory panel supporting the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for kids 5-11, the White House COVID-19 response team on Wednesday said millions of doses would be sent to pediatricians, family doctors, pharmacies, children's hospitals and other healthcare entities as soon as the inoculations are authorized.
About 28 million children in that age range could become eligible for the Pfizer vaccine as early as next week.
"We will be ready immediately following FDA and CDC's decisions so that parents can get their kids vaccinated quickly, easily and conveniently,'' said Jeff Zients, the team's coordinator.
Other team members illustrated the importance of getting children vaccinated. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said COVID-19 has become one of the 10 leading causes of death among children ages 5-11, and that 8,300 kids those ages have been hospitalized with the illness. A recent CDC study found 42% of American children ages 5-11 had contracted the coronavirus by the end of June.
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