The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said Tuesday night that she was endorsing a recommendation to vaccinate children ages 5 to 11 against Covid-19, paving the way for for immediate vaccination of even the youngest age group in the US.
“The CDC now expands vaccine recommendations to about 28 million children in this age group in the United States and allows those responsible to begin vaccinating them as soon as possible,” the agency said in a statement.
“We know that millions of parents are eager to vaccinate their children, and with that decision, we now recommend that around 28 million children receive the vaccine,” said Walensky.
“As a mother, I encourage parents to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of vaccinating their children.”
On Tuesday, CDC’s independent vaccine advisers voted (14 to 0) in favor of approving Pfizer’s vaccines for younger children.
Members of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices spent an unusually long time speaking in support of the vaccine before voting. “We have another vaccine that saves children’s lives. And we must be very confident to apply it as much as possible to do what needs to be done, without significant concerns of serious adverse effects,” said Dr. Sarah Long, professor of pediatrics at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.
“As you’ve heard, we’re all very excited about this vaccine in this age group,” said Dr. Beth Bell, clinical professor of global health at the University of Washington, after the vote.
“But we also understand that parents have legitimate concerns and that our vote is a way of telling the American public that, based on our experience and the information we have, we are all very excited,” added Bell.
“We were all talking about how we are going to vaccinate our children and grandchildren. But I think another point we made to the American public is that we understand that people have legitimate concerns and a lot of questions. encourage people to ask their providers to visit the CDC website, talk to their friends, their parents, and do what they need to do to feel comfortable with their decision,” added Bell.
President Joe Biden spoke out, calling the decision a turning point in the battle against the pandemic.
“This will allow parents to end months of worrying about their children and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others. It is a big step for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus,” Biden said in a statement.
“In recent weeks, my government has been working hard to be prepared for this moment: we are ready to act. We’ve already secured enough vaccine supply for every child in the US, and last weekend we started the process of packing and shipping millions of doses of pediatric vaccines. These doses – specially designed for these younger children – began to reach thousands of locations across the country. ”
The White House said the vaccination program will reach full speed next week.
“A vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 will allow us to build on the extraordinary progress we’ve made over the past nine months. More than 78 percent of Americans age 12 and older have received at least one vaccine, including millions of teenagers – and the vaccines have proven to be incredibly safe and effective,” said Biden.
(This text has been translated from English; read the original here)
Reference: CNN Brasil
