CDC Advisory Committee Recommends Pfizer's COVID Vaccine For Kids As Young As 12

The ACIP recommendations are expected to be formally adopted by the CDC director, which would allow for a widespread rollout of shots for adolescents to begin within the coming days.

Wednesday, May 12th 2021, 2:39 pm

By: CBS News


A panel of independent advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted on Wednesday to recommend Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents age 12 to 15, clearing one of the final remaining hurdles to making the shots available to all Americans as young as 12.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations are expected to be formally adopted by the CDC director, which would allow for a widespread rollout of shots for adolescents to begin within the coming days.

Though the Food and Drug Administration already granted emergency use authorization for the vaccine in kids ages 12 to 15 on Monday, only a small handful of states — including Georgia and North Carolina — have so far directed providers in their states to begin giving the shots to adolescents.

The CDC says vaccinators are required to "implement all recommendations of the ACIP, adopted by the CDC Director," which before today's vote had only allowed for the shots to be used in people as young as 16.

Federal and local health officials are planning on a "stepwise approach" to rolling out Pfizer's shot for adolescents, CDC officials told ACIP, including adding new school-based vaccination programs later this year. 

"This would include an early summer sprint in May and June, followed by increasing access in June and July, and a back-to-school campaign later in the summer, and at the start of the school year," CDC's Dr. Sara Oliver said. 

The agency also will now allow for "coadministration" of COVID-19 vaccines with other shots, citing a growing body of evidence on the vaccine's safety. 

Pediatricians had warned that the agency's previous guidance against getting any other shots within 14 days before or after the COVID-19 vaccine posed "very real risks" to hamper efforts to catch adolescents up on missed inoculations before the next school year.

CDC officials have warned for months that routine immunizations among children had plummeted amid the pandemic, down 11.7 million doses compared to 2019. 

The FDA's review of Pfizer's data confirmed the company's clinical trial found the shots were safe and effective in adolescents, and that the side effects were "consistent" with older age groups. In the study, 97.9% of adolescents were found to have produced enough antibodies in the month after their second dose.

The CDC's move could add nearly 17 million people to the pool of Americans eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis. However, a poll taken by the group last month found just 30% of parents said they planned to get their kids in this age group vaccinated as soon as it was authorized. Another 25% said they wanted to wait and see.

While cases of COVID-19 are often milder in children, officials have said vaccinating younger Americans would help avert future surges of cases in the adults around them and could accelerate the lifting of some public health restrictions.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky acknowledged hesitancy among some parents at a Senate hearing on Tuesday, saying she encouraged all parents to get their children vaccinated.

"I have a 16-year-old myself, and I can tell you he wants to get the vaccine. He wants his life back. These kids want to go back to school, they want to go back to the things they love," Walensky said.



logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

May 12th, 2021

July 15th, 2022

November 18th, 2021

October 15th, 2021

Top Headlines

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024