The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, for its acronym in English), Robert P. Redfield, announced this Sunday that he has already signed the recommendation of an advisory committee of the agency that the
administration of the vaccine against COVID-19 from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer
.
"I was proud to sign the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendation last night to use Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine
in people 16 years of age and older,
" he said in a statement.
This official CDC recommendation follows the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision last Friday to authorize the emergency use of this vaccine.
"As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the United States, the CDC's recommendation comes at a critical time," Redfield added.
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"The initial COVID-19 vaccination is scheduled to begin Monday, and this is the next step in our efforts to protect Americans,
reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,
and help restore some normalcy to our lives. and in our country, "he also said.
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The CDC advisory panel recommended on Saturday that Pfizer's vaccine, developed in conjunction with the German company BioNTech, be given to people over 16 years old, as there is not enough information on the effects in people younger than that age.
Currently,
volunteers are being recruited to study these effects in 12-year-olds.
[The CDC reviews the Pfizer vaccine and recommends it only for those 16 and older. Who should abstain?]
The FDA also announced that it still does not have enough information about the risks associated with the vaccine when applied to pregnant women.
The agency does not recommend administering it in those circumstances, but claims that it can be considered on a case-by-case basis as to whether or not it is appropriate.
In the emergency session this Saturday, the CDC expert panel recommended
monitoring allergy sufferers for 30 minutes after the injection
.
Likewise, he agreed with the plan so that the first to obtain the vaccine are health workers employed directly in assisting patients with the disease and residents of care centers for the elderly, followed by people aged 65 years and over, and those with Pre-existing medical conditions with increased risk of complications from COVID-19.