COVID-19 Vaccination Program for Children: 5-11-Year-Old Kids Can Now Get Their Shot; What Do Parents Need to Know?

A week ago, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the COVID-19 vaccine of Pfizer for kids aged five to 11 years old, the moment most parents have been looking forward to. Now kids aged four years old and below are the only ones not qualified to be given a COVID-19 shot.

As specified in a CNET report, Pfizer's vaccine for children is one-third of a regular dose, has a little different formula and is administered using a smaller needle.

It was authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration a week ago after data that showed an encouraging safety feature, not to mention high efficacy of 90.7 percent was analyzed by an independent committee to the FDA.

There were no severe side effects reported in an ongoing trial that tested the vaccine in more than 3,000 children aged five to 11 years old.

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Science Times - COVID-19 Vaccine: 5-11-Year-Old Kids Now Getting Their Shot; What Do Parents Need to Know?

(Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
A child receives the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination at the Fairfax County Government Center on November 04, 2021 in Annandale, Virginia. The federal government approved the coronavirus vaccine for children between the ages of five and 11 years old last week.

Parents Encouraged to Have Their Kids Vaccinated

In a statement, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC director said, it's known that millions of parents are eager to get their kids vaccinated and with the FDA's approval, the agency has now recommended that roughly 28 million children get a COVID-19 vaccine.

As a mom, she added, she's encouraging parents in doubt or with questions to discuss their concerns with their pediatrician, their nurse, or local pharmacist to know more about the vaccine and the essentiality of getting their kids vaccinated.

With the go-signal both from the FDA and CDC, parents can now take their children in for a COVID-19 injection. White House COVI-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients detailed during a press conference on Monday how the US Administration was preparing for the shipping out of Pfizer's vaccines for young children, stating that the vaccination program for children below 12 years of age, will be "fully up and running" this week.

Important Facts About the Vaccine for Kids

Kids stay at low risk of severe COVID-19 infection and death compared to adults. Of states that reported COVID-19 data to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 0.1 percent to two percent of cases of the infection in kids led to hospital admission.

Nonetheless, children can experience complications from the disease, which include long COVID and multisystem inflammatory syndrome.

Essentially, children aged five years old and below are also at least as possible to contract COVID-19 as adults are. This was based on data shared at an FDA advisers' meeting.

Over 1.9 million children in the said age group have been infected with the virus since the onset of the pandemic. According to November 2 data from the CDC, more than 170 children aged five to 11 years have died from the disease.

Availability of COVID-19 Vaccine

Now that both the CDC and FDA have signed off on shots of COVID-19 for children aged five to 11 years old, the latter in that age group can already get inoculated.

Nevertheless, given that the vaccine of Pfizer for younger children is a little different formula than the vaccine for adults, it may take a few days for some offices and clinics of doctors to have the vaccine in stock.

According to Zients, this vaccination program for children belonging to the age group will be "fully up and running" this week.

Meanwhile, children aged 12 years old and above have been eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine of Pfizer for a while. Moderna, the other mRNA vaccine, and Johnson & Johnson, the only single-dose vaccine on the US market, are not yet available for injection to kids.

Related information about the FDA and CDC's approval of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 55 years old is shown on TODAY's YouTube video below: