Coronavirus

White House Tells States to Prepare for COVID Vaccinations in Young Children

In anticipation of the FDA green light, the administration has begun planning for the vaccination effort with states, pharmacies and medical groups

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NBCUniversal Media, LLC Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said on Thursday, Oct. 7, they have made a formal request to the FDA to extend emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11.

The White House told governors to start preparing to vaccinate children as young as age 5 by early November in anticipation of the FDA clearing Pfizer's COVID vaccine for that age group in the coming weeks, a White House official said.

The Biden administration has purchased 65 million pediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine, enough to vaccinate the estimated 28 million children who would be eligible should the FDA approve Pfizer’s request to vaccinate kids ages 5 to 11, according to a Health and Human Services official.

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Pfizer and BioNTech said earlier this month that they had submitted an emergency request for authorization for those ages 5 to 11, and an FDA advisory committee plans to meet to discuss the request on Oct. 26. The vaccine doses for the youngest age group won’t be interchangeable with those used in adults because it has a different dosage and dilution requirement.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com.

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