WaPo: (freebie)
10 million doses to be quickly rolled out if vaccine for young children is recommended
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told coronavirus vaccine providers to be ready to receive shots for children younger than 5 by Feb. 21 — just a week after the Food and Drug Administration is expected to make its recommendation on emergency-use authorization.
If the vaccine receives the green light, an initial 10 million doses are expected to be ready for shipment, with the first half of the batch available on Feb. 21 and the second on Feb. 25, according to an updated pediatric vaccination planning guide released this week. The government has secured enough supply for all 18 million children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years, White House covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said in a press briefing Wednesday.
FDA advisers are set to discuss clinical trial data submitted by Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday before determining whether to recommend the two-dose vaccine regimen for emergency-use authorization. But the vaccine can be administered only after the CDC gives its official approval.
Federal authorities have sought to reassure parents that the FDA will not cut corners in the authorization process after concerns that the two-dose regimen had failed to generate a sufficiently robust immune response in 2- to 4-year-olds. Data on a third shot will not be available until at least late March. Once that information is submitted, regulators are expected to authorize a third dose.
Here’s what to know
FDA advisers are set to discuss clinical trial data submitted by Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday before determining whether to recommend the two-dose vaccine regimen for emergency-use authorization. But the vaccine can be administered only after the CDC gives its official approval.
Federal authorities have sought to reassure parents that the FDA will not cut corners in the authorization process after concerns that the two-dose regimen had failed to generate a sufficiently robust immune response in 2- to 4-year-olds. Data on a third shot will not be available until at least late March. Once that information is submitted, regulators are expected to authorize a third dose.
Here’s what to know
- In New York, Illinois and Rhode Island, governors said they would soon end mask mandates for public indoor places, and some states, including Massachusetts, promised children would no longer have to wear them in school. But the Biden administration continues to recommend mask requirements.
- While the world marked 500,000 covid deaths since the omicron variant was first detected in November, White House medical adviser Anthony S. Fauci said the United States is exiting “the full-blown pandemic phase” of the coronavirus crisis.
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