White House Rolls Out Plan to Vaccinate American Children: Ages 5 to 11

     As soon as Pfizer’s vaccine for children aged five to 11 is approved by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose authorization is expected in weeks, American children will be able to get vaccinated at their pediatricians’ offices, their local pharmacies, and possibly their schools even their schools, said President Joe Biden.

     The Federal Emergency Management Agency is also on board to help speed the process of vaccinating American children.

     The president, who yesterday explained his plan to vaccinate American children aged 5 to 11, reported that the US has purchased 65 million doses of the Pfizer pediatric shot to vaccinate the 28 million children who are expected to soon be eligible to get their shots.

     While vaccines were sometimes hard to get when they were first made available 10 months ago, the US now has a large stockpile of Pfizer’s vaccine, said President Biden.

     Children are at lower risk than adults of having serious side effects from COVID-19, however, serious consequences can sometimes occur, said US officials, who added that not only does vaccination dramatically reduces those chances, but the shots keep everyone safe by reducing the spread of the more transmissible delta variant.

     Following lengthy studies that were meant to ensure the safety of the vaccines, federal regulators will meet to discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks of vaccinating children, in CDC advisory meetings that are scheduled for Nov 2 and 3.

     As soon as the CDC provides its formal approval, Pfizer will ship to medical providers nationwide: millions of vaccine doses, which are expected to be one-third of the dosage that is used for adults and adolescents, along with the smaller needles that are necessary for injecting younger children.

     Within days after Nov. 3, smaller doses of Pfizer’s vaccine will be ready to go into the arms of American kids: which will add to the 219 million Americans aged 12 and up, or 66% of the country’s total population, who have received COVID-19 shots.

     Nearly 190,000,000 Americans out of 331,449,281 are fully vaccinated.

     In addition to enlisting the help of pediatricians and pharmacies to administer the shots, President Biden is also preparing to ask for the help of educators, physicians, and community leaders to initiate an educational campaign for parents about the vaccine’s safety for children.

     Children who get their first shots within a couple weeks of the expected approval in early November will be fully vaccinated by the end of December.

 (Darren McGee- Office of Formor Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)