Aashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 coordinator, declared about the government’s plan for vaccinating the population for kids below 5 years. The waiting time for parents of younger kids is over as the Biden administration has authorized the first dose of vaccines to be given to kids under the age of 5 by 21 June.
Aashish Jha, the White House coordinator for Covid-19, spoke to Business Standard about the plan of the administration to give the first dose of Covid-19 vaccines to children below the age of 5. The outside panel of food and drug administration advisors has decided to meet on 14-15 June to check Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for those young kids.
As Jha reported to Business Standard, the first shots of the vaccine would be provided through shipments to doctor’s clinics and pediatric centers once the FDA authorization is complete. The initial availability of 10 million doses will be distributed among states which have started placing orders for their pediatric facilities. He added that the vaccine appointments would take place in a few days once the doses arrive in the country.
Covid vaccine entering the market
Health officials had looked at the first dose of vaccines coming during the starting of the year, but few concerns and scientific studies inside the Food and Drug Administration have put a hold on the process.
While the vaccine is ready to come into the markets for use, few rules make it difficult as the authorities want to introduce two vaccines for the public rather than stressing only one. However, with the Covid cases on the rise, FDA’s plan might change. A person from the agency has stated that the FDA will decide about introducing vaccines based on their data.
The pressure on the authorities with President Joe Biden is high, as frustrated parents complain. According to the report published in Business Standard, they have been checking with the government and are hesitant to move past the crisis due to the unvaccinated younger children (According to the report published in Business Standard).
Involvement of the Food and Drug Administration
Few people in the administration are not happy about the role of the FDA in the vaccine authorization as it wants immediate approval for the vaccines to be released due to increasing cases of Covid-19. The US is currently seeing more than 40,000 daily cases, which were 25,000 in April.
FDA authorities are still hesitant to release one Covid vaccine after another as it may stress the administration to take care of the shots and their effectiveness. They feel that the parents of kids aged less than five might not opt for immediate vaccination as not more than 30% of kids between five to eleven are fully vaccinated.
The situation would prove similar to the one where the elderly population was being vaccinated through an improper schedule.
Because of the two Covid vaccines in the market, Pfizer and Moderna, the FDA has stated that the agency’s approach is to conduct a review, keeping in mind the people’s needs and following all rules and regulations.
