Vaccine for Young Children Awaiting CDC Decision 1:38
(CNN) -
Independent advisers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved recommending a Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the independent group of experts that advises the CDC, met to take this penultimate regulatory step before the final decision passes to Dr. Rochelle. Walensky, director of the CDC.
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About 28 million children would be eligible for the first time, and for some parents and pediatricians, the decision may not come soon enough.
According to a report released Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics, children now make up a disproportionate number of new COVID-19 cases, accounting for a quarter of all new cases last week.
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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Pfizer's vaccine for this younger age group on Friday, giving the company the distinction of having the first use authorization. Emergency for a Covid-19 Vaccine for Young Children in the United States.
The FDA said the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risk for children.
Pfizer presented to the advisors
At the CDC meeting, which was held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Pfizer presented its data to the advisors.
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In the informational documents it submitted to the FDA, Pfizer says its clinical trial showed that the vaccine provides 90.7% protection against symptomatic disease among this age group, with one-third of the dose that 12 people receive. years or more.
The company hopes the smaller dose will reduce potential side effects.
In the afternoon, CDC scientists presented information on potential side effects, and also discussed the general need for a Covid-19 vaccine in children.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics report, almost 101,000 more children tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week alone.
Although COVID-19 cases have been declining, even among children, the number of children with COVID-19 is still considered "extremely high," according to the AAP.
This Friday, immediately after the FDA cleared the vaccine, FDA Acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock urged parents to vaccinate their children as soon as possible.
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Cases grow among children
"Tragically, Covid-19 is among the top 10 causes of death for children ages 5 to 11 in the United States," Woodcock said.
According to the CDC, 172 children between the ages of 5 and 11 have died from covid-19 as of this Monday.
In this age group there have been more than 8,300 hospitalizations related to covid-19 until September of this year, and about 1.9 million cases.
The CDC also explained the vaccine's safety data to the committee, including the low risk of myocarditis, an inflammatory heart disease.
It is a condition that has been seen in some adolescents and adults who received the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
Committee chair Dr. Grace Lee told CNN that although data is limited, existing surveillance systems are doing a good job of detecting vaccine safety signals.
He said the CDC is also conducting a long-term study of people who develop myocarditis after vaccination.
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Government plans for pediatric vaccination
The Biden administration has been making plans to vaccinate as many children as possible as soon as the vaccine is authorized.
The administration said it has contracted with Pfizer to obtain enough supply to vaccinate all children in this age group.
The administration has also helped more than 25,000 doctors' offices, pharmacies, community health centers and rural health clinics administer vaccines.
The question remains of how many parents will vaccinate their children.
Pfizer's vaccine is already licensed for children ages 12 to 15, and approved for those over 16, but preteens and teens are the least vaccinated age group.
As for children ages 5 to 11, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released last Thursday revealed that most parents said they would not immediately vaccinate their children.
About a third of parents with children in this age range would wait to see how other children fared with the vaccine before inoculating their own children, but experts say parents shouldn't wait.
"As a parent, if I had young children in this age group, I would vaccinate them now," the FDA's Woodcock said Friday.
"I would not want to risk them being one of those developing long-term covid-19, developing multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or having to be hospitalized for the virus."
According to Woodcock, vaccines are not limited to protecting the individual.
Vaccines can help protect the community.
"One of the ways we can do this is by decreasing transmission in all age groups," Woodcock said.
"So I think the recommendation would be that we continue to vaccinate children."
With information from Elizabeth Cohen.
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