Washington D.C, United States of America (USA)- Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, has said COVID-19 shots for children younger than five could soon be available by June 21, 2022.
In addition, Dr. Jha said it was important for the White House to plan, and to be transparent about that planning and said the administration has been working closely with local health departments, pediatricians and family doctors, as well as children’s hospitals.
“I want to be very clear that I am not here to prejudge the outcome of the process but the administration is hard at work planning all sorts of scenarios based on whatever the outcome is.
Our expectation is that within weeks, every parent who wants their child to get vaccinated will be able to get an appointment. At the end of the day we all want to move fast, but we have got to get it right,” said Dr. Jha.
Experts from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are set to meet between June 14 and 15, 2022 to discuss BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses for children from six months onwards as children between six months and four years are the only ones yet to be approved for COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
“We expect an FDA decision shortly after the advisory committee meeting, and we look forward to this process playing out. The FDA authorization is not the final step in the process before vaccinations can begin. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) must also issue its recommendations. If the FDA authorizes the vaccines, the CDC will have its advisory committee meetings and ultimately the CDC director will make her recommendations,” added Dr. Jha.
Nevertheless, Dr. Jha said the country has plenty of supply of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to start the vaccination program for kids younger than five, and 10 million additional doses would be made available for States, pharmacies, and community health centers and Federal entities to order starting from today.
