- Cases: 26,767,229
- Dead: 452,279
WaPo:
Vaccine for U.S. children under 5 could be available within weeks
A coronavirus vaccine for children younger than 5 could be available within weeks, far sooner than expected, people briefed on the situation told The Washington Post.
Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, the manufacturers of the vaccine, are expected to submit a request to the Food and Drug Administration as early as Tuesday, seeking emergency-use authorization for a two-shot regimen for children 6 months to 5 years old.
The highly transmissible omicron variant launched another wave of school shutdowns and day-care closures this winter, and many parents of young children have been desperately waiting for vaccine news since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized Pfizer-BioNTech shots for millions of kids ages 5 to 11 late last year. Pfizer had said in December that its coronavirus vaccine would not be available to children younger than 5 until after March at the earliest.
Here’s what to know
- The Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval to Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, now known as Spikevax. It was previously available under emergency use authorization.
- Austria’s vaccine mandate for all adults takes effect this week, in a rollout closely watched by other nations mulling whether to follow suit.
- White House officials frustrated with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra’s handling of the pandemic have openly mused about who might be better in the job, those involved in the discussions say, as the Biden administration faces growing criticism for missteps in public health messaging.
- More than a billion people will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Tuesday across Asia and globally, ringing in the Year of the Tiger. Before the pandemic, the holiday often prompted the world’s largest annual migration of people. But the virus will again necessitate scaled-down travel and festivities.
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