Covid-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11 could be available as soon as the end of October, two experts said on Sunday. Some senior officials of the Biden administration have said approval for that age group was unlikely before the end of 2021.
At the moment, only children ages 12 and older qualify for vaccination. An earlier approval for younger children would be good news for parents, many of whom are anxious about classroom safety as schools reopen.
The Food and Drug Administration recently warned parents against trying to get younger children vaccinated before an official recommendation, saying there are unanswered questions about dosing and immunity in this age group.
Getting the green light for younger children will require careful and expeditious review of the clinical data, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration who sits on the board of Pfizer, one of the vaccine makers, said on the CBS program “Face the Nation.”
Still, “in a best-case scenario,” the Pfizer vaccine could be ready by Halloween, or Oct. 31, for younger children. “I have confidence in Pfizer in terms of the data that they’ve collected,” Dr. Gottlieb said.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/09/12/world/covid