US FDA Authorizes Pfizer Vaccine for Adolescents

Living with the Coronavirus pandemic has become our new norm. Countries are working hard to rid the world of this virus, but it seems like COVID isn’t going away anytime soon. Since there is a shortage of vaccines worldwide, it was unwise to vaccinate people randomly. Instead, governments came up with a plan to vaccinate health workers and people belonging to a specific age group first. 

This strategy has proven effective, but there is still a long way to go. The United States is one of the countries that has suffered a lot during this time. They are trying to vaccinate as many people as possible. As a result, the country has authorized the Pfizer vaccine for children between 12 and 15.

• This will prove to be a significant step in the fight against COVID, and we only hope that other countries will also step up the number of people they are vaccinating daily. According to FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock, this move will help end the pandemic soon. The US has administered around 260 million doses, but the demand has been falling, which is a concern.
• People are concerned about the side effects of certain vaccines, and rightly so. However, the FDA has said that they have done a thorough review of the data and believe that the use of the vaccine on children does not pose any threat.
• The decision came after BioNTech and Pfizer conducted clinical trials of their vaccines on over 2000 children. The participants of the vaccine either received a dose of either vaccine or got a placebo. According to the results, 18 children who received the placebo were detected with COVID. However, none of the children who received the vaccine showed any signs of the virus.
• It has to be noted that the FDA approval is not the final decision; instead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will also review the data to find out if administering the vaccine to young people is advisable.
• All of this is being done according to President Joe Biden’s plan to administer at least one dose of the vaccine to at least 70% of the population until the 4th of July. The country has been loosening the restrictions, and some states have even opened their economies.
• Everyone is worried about the virus, and people have asked the question that whether the virus is dangerous for children or not. According to the data, there is very little chance that children might get ill from the virus.
• Pfizer is one of the leading vaccine manufacturers globally, and the reason they are trying to vaccinate children is to make sure that they keep schools open without worrying about spreading the virus. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are also testing their vaccines on people aged between 12 and 18 years. Moderna and Pfizer are also testing their vaccines on children between 6 months and 11 years.