Pouch "Vaccinations for ages 5-11 likely to start early next month"

Anthony Fauci, Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The United States will expand COVID-19 vaccination eligibility to children aged 5 to 11 as early as the beginning of next month.

Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said on the 24th (local time) on ABC News, "If everything goes well and we receive approval and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we can vaccinate children aged 5 to 11 in the first or second week of November."

Currently, the U.S. is vaccinating only those aged 12 and older against COVID-19. Fauci said, "I do not want to get ahead of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC," but added, "(Pfizer's) data looked good."

On the 22nd, Pfizer announced the results of a clinical trial in which children were given one-third (10μg) of the adult dose at three-week intervals. According to the data Pfizer submitted to the FDA, the vaccine showed 90.7% efficacy in preventing COVID-19 in children aged 5 to 11.

Fauci emphasized the need for vaccination, stating, "With the spread of the Delta variant, children are infected and transmit the virus as easily as adults," and "about 50% of infections in children are asymptomatic, so they are often not well recognized." The White House also announced on its website that "the government has secured enough vaccines to support the vaccination of 28 million children aged 5 to 11."

The FDA considers the benefits of Pfizer vaccination for children to outweigh the risks. An external advisory committee of the FDA will hold a meeting on the 26th to discuss whether to recommend emergency use authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5 to 11.