An advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday has endorsed the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in children as young as 12.
The vote, which included kids in the U.S. between ages 12 and 15 under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization, was 14 in favor and one recusal on Wednesday.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is expected to sign off within hours, paving the way for an important step in inoculating Americans in the effort to end the coronavirus pandemic.
While children haven’t proven to be at great risk for the coronavirus, many believe this move will help stop transmission of the virus itself.
"It certainly is a risk. They do get it and they are mildly symptomatic. The problem is, those symptoms can manifest later in life with lung and potentially other problems," said Dr. David Agus, professor of medicine and engineering at the University of Southern California and founding director of USC’s Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine.
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For parents weighing whether to have their kids vaccinated for COVID-19, Dr. Agus said he understands the anxiety. "The side effects we’re seeing in this age group is exactly the same as the 20 year olds," he said. "They get fever, chills and it lasts for about a day."
An estimated 25% of Americans are under the age of 21.
"If they’re not going to be vaccinated, we’re not going to get to the herd immunity we need to protect the rest of the country," Dr. Agus told KCBS Radio's Stan Bunger.
The FDA approved the step on Monday.
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