By Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder Oct. 8, 2021, at 3:43 p.m.
Pfizer this week became the first vaccine maker to ask the Food and Drug Administration to authorize emergency use of its coronavirus vaccine in children ages 5-11, a development that could open up the shot to 48 million more people.
Pfizer this week became the first vaccine maker to ask the Food and Drug Administration to authorize emergency use of its coronavirus vaccine in children ages 5-11, a development that could open up the shot to 48 million more people.
The request is made even more urgent as children enter the fall and winter months of in-person learning, which could see flu outbreaks on top of coronavirus cases.
Children are at lower risk of severe infection and death from COVID-19 than older populations, but it does still happen.
According to a recent report, nearly 5.9 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and the number of new cases in children “remains exceptionally high,” making up nearly 27% of new infections.
