The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) independent vaccine advisory panel today endorsed the use of a third Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 – 11.
Eleven members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted in favor of the booster shot.
Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot, associate professor of medicine and health policy at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, voted against endorsing the shots. Dr. Kevin A. Ault, with the department of obstetrics and gynecology, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas, abstained.
The ACIP’s recommendation came two days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Pfizer’s request for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of a single booster dose for this age group, saying the third shot should be administered at least five months after completion of a primary series with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to sign off on today’s ACIP committee recommendation, clearing the way for healthcare workers to begin administering the shots.
During today’s meeting,
Pfizer presented data from a small group of 30 children ages 5 to 11
showing that a third dose boosted infection-blocking antibody levels
against Omicron 22-fold one month after administration compared to two
doses, CNBC reported....<<<Read More>>>...
