The United States on Friday approved the Pfizer Covid vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11 to vaccinate 28 million young Americans.
The decision was made after a high-level medical panel advised the government to consider the positive outcome rather than the risk of side effects this week.
The United States has decided against various children’s vaccinations in several countries, including China, Chile, Cuba, and the United Arab Emirates.
“As a mother and a physician, I know that parents, carers, school staff and children are awaiting approval,” Janet Woodcock, acting head of the Food and Drug Administration, said in a statement.
“Vaccinating young children against Covid-19 will bring them closer to us and bring them back to normalcy.”
He said the vaccine should be introduced soon after further discussions by a Center for Disease Control and Prevention panel on clinical recommendations.
Pfizer and its partner Bioentech announced this week that the US government had purchased another 50 million vaccine doses to protect children, even those under five years of age.
More than 2,000 took part in clinical trials, which showed that it was more than 90 percent effective in preventing disease. Vaccine safety monitoring of more than 3,000 children showed no severe side effects.
