US: Children Aged 5 to 11 To Be Vaccinated With With Pfizer-BioNTech After CDC Approval

<p><strong>New Delhi:</strong> After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<em>&nbsp;</em>signed off on giving the Pfizer-BioNTech shots to millions of children ages 5 to 11, the shipping began across the country.</p> <p>"Today, we have reached a turning point in our battle against COVID-19," Biden said in a statement released by the White House, AFP reported.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>ALSO READ: <span style="color: #e03e2d;"><a style="color: #e03e2d;" href="https://ift.tt/3GHYIDz Shutting Down Facial Recognition, To Delete Data Of Over 1 Billion Users</a></span><br /></strong></p> <p>Vaccinating younger children will "allow parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids, and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others. It is a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus," the president continued.</p> <p>"The program will ramp up over the coming days, and (be) fully up and running during the week of November 8," he said.</p> <p>Before the CDC approval, the Food and Drug Administration authorizes the shots for children ages 5 to 11 doses just a third of the amount given to teens and adults. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends who should receive FDA-cleared vaccines.</p> <p>The vaccine will still be given in two injections, three weeks apart. The dosage has been adjusted to 10 micrograms per injection, compared to 30 micrograms for the older age groups.</p> <p>CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky came only hours after an advisory panel unanimously decided Pfizer&rsquo;s shots should be opened to the 28 million youngsters in that age group, reported AP. The doses were already shipped to states, doctors&rsquo; offices and pharmacies, to be ready for CDC's decision.</p> <p>According to AP, Dr. Walensky said while the risk of severe disease and death is lower in young children than adults, it is real and that Covid-19 has had a profound social, mental health and educational impact on youngsters, including widening disparities in learning.</p> <p>It is expected vaccinating children will help to keep most schools open, and a possible reduction in transmission of the epidemic into the broader population.</p>

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