News Desk: A top US health agency granted final approval on Tuesday to Pfizer-BioNTech’s paediatric vaccine against Covid-19 for 5 to 11 years old, clearing the way for inoculating 28 million children starting “as soon as possible”.
President Joe Biden called Pfizer’s approval by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) a “turning point’ in the battle against Covid-19, saying, “It will allow parents to end months of anxious worrying about their kids, and reduce the extent to which children spread the virus to others. It is a major step forward for our nation in our fight to defeat the virus.”
The CDC said the vaccination of children could begin “as soon as possible”. Distribution of the paediatric vaccine has already begun and plans afoot to scale up to full capacity starting on November 8, CDC said, adding that vaccines will be available at multiple locations, including paediatric health care provider offices, pharmacies, Federally Qualified Health Centers (HRSA).
