US vaccine advisory committee recommends Pfizer COVID vaccine for children 5-11 yrs old

Washington, Nov 3 (Agency) The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously to recommend the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children between five and 11 years old. “The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for children 5-11 years of age in the US population under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization,” ACIP recommended on Tuesday.

The recommendation passed unanimously with 14 votes in favor. On Monday, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients said Pfizer is shipping the first seven million vaccine doses out of the total of 15 million doses intended for children aged five to 11, after the US Food and Drug Administration provided emergency use authorization last week. The recommendation comes after The BMJ reported that clinical researchers involved with the phase III trials of the Pfizer vaccine, including those in children and young adults, engaged in poor scientific practices such as data falsification and inadequately trained vaccinators.