The long wait is finally over. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off Saturday, June 18, on COVID vaccines for the youngest children. Her endorsement means shots can begin immediately for the littlest Americans, finally ending the two-and-a-half-year wait on the part of parents of kids under the age of 5.
Walenksy accepted the recommendation within hours after the advisory committee of the CDC voted unanimously in favor of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for kids as young as six months, NBC News reported.
The CDC advisory committee endorsed Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna's Covid-19 vaccines for the youngest children on Saturday, June 18, the last step before Walensky could issue her final sign-off.
President Biden hails CDC's decision to approve the COVID vaccine
According to CNN, Walensky signed off on administering three doses of Pfizer's vaccine in children ages six months to 4 years and two doses of Moderna's vaccine in children ages six months to 5 years.
The unanimous recommendations from the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices followed the authorization of the shots by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday, June 17. President Biden hailed Saturday's announcement as a monumental step forward for the United States.
The commander-in-chief said that this is a day of relief and celebration for parents all over the country. Biden added that as the first country to protect the youngest children with COVID-19 vaccines, his administration has been planning and preparing for this moment for months, effectively securing doses and offering highly effective and safe mRNA vaccines for all kids as young as six months old.
Many panel members celebrated the milestone shortly before Saturday's votes - one for Pfizer and a separate one for Moderna - noting that parents will soon have two effective tools to protect their youngest kids from COVID after more than two years of living with the deadly coronavirus.
Committee member Dr. Sarah Long, a pediatrician at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, issued a statement to parents, saying that if they are not going to immunize their children, it is a misplaced concern, and they should vaccinate their children to save their lives.
COVID is the fifth most common cause of death in kids younger than 5
While young kids are generally less likely than adults to experience the most serious outcomes of the coronavirus, some do. According to CDC data, there have been more than 2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, more than 20,000 hospitalizations, and more than 200 deaths among kids six months old through age 4. COVID-19 is the fifth most common cause of death in children younger than 5.
Committee member Dr. Beth Bell, a clinical professor in the department of global health at the University of Washington, said that a young child's death is an incredible tragedy, and they know that this disease is killing children. Bell added that this is an opportunity, which one doesn't get very often, to participate in preventing the death of young kids.
