The nation’s 19 million children under 5 are the only group not yet eligible for vaccination against the coronavirus.
The FDA said Tuesday it will convene a panel of independent researchers and physicians in mid-February to help review the Pfizer data. The agency isn’t required to follow the panelists' advice but their input is a key step in publicly vetting vaccine safety and effectiveness.
The Biden administration has been trying to speed the authorization of COVID-19 shots for children, contending vaccinations are critical for opening schools and day care centers and keeping them open, and for freeing up parents from child care duties so they can go back to work. “What we’re seeing right now is still a lot of hospitalizations and unfortunately some deaths in this age group,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary of the University of Colorado, who is on the AAP's infectious disease committee. If the FDA clears vaccinations for these youngsters, “that’s going to be really important because all of those hospitalizations and deaths essentially are preventable.”
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