11 May FDA Approves Pfizer Vaccine for Young Adults
Followed by the need to get every American vaccinated, the US Government has authorized the Pfizer vaccine for adolescents aged 12-15 years. According to the source, around 260 million doses of vaccine have already been administered in the US.
The Food and drug administration (FDA) said that approving the vaccine for young adults is an important step to fight the pandemic. Dr. Janet Woodcock, FDA commissioner, also stated that this step would help reach mass immunization and bring back the sense of normalcy, we once had. Dr. Woodcock also encouraged the parents to rest assured as the department has taken every step possible to ensure that this vaccine is safe for adolescents.
This decision was announced on Monday, followed by a trial conducted on 2,260 volunteers aged 12-15. Each volunteer received either two doses of the vaccine or a placebo. This clinical trial was conducted by Pfizer and BioNTech.
According to the results, 18 cases of symptomatic coronavirus infection were found in the placebo group. However, there were no cases in the group that received the vaccination.
Although the FDA has approved the vaccine, approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is still pending. Once the CDC approves the vaccine, the administration will soon start for children aged 12-15. Meanwhile, universities like the State University of New York, the City University of New York, the University of Oregon and Western Oregon University have asked every student and staff member to get vaccinated before the start of the new school year this autumn.
With more and more people getting vaccinated, mask mandates in some regions have been removed and the economies are reopening. In fact, last week, US President Joe Biden announced a plan to get 70% of the Americans vaccinated before July 4.
Several health data show that the risk of children becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 is relatively low. In fact, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), out of the total cases recorded this month, only 10% are children and the death rate for children is only 0.03%.
SOURCE- BBC
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