WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Biden Administration announced an operational plan to ensure that the new Covid-19 vaccines for children under the age of 5 are readily available and that they are vaccinated against the virus.
FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on Tuesday had overwhelmingly recommended for use a new vaccine developed by the biotechnology company Novavax.
Next week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will consider whether to authorize and recommend the first Covid-19 vaccines for kids under the age of 5. If FDA authorizes and CDC recommends one or both of the COVID-19 vaccines for this age group, it would be a historic milestone in the nation's fight against the virus. It would mean nearly the entire American population is eligible for the protection that vaccination provides.
As the FDA and CDC conduct their independent review processes, the government is planning for all scenarios, including for the first vaccinations to start as early as the week of June 20, the White House announced.
If the FDA authorizes a vaccine, the Administration will immediately begin shipping doses across the country-and will launch an effort to ensure that parents can get their children vaccinated easily, it added. 85 percent of children under the age of five live within five miles of a potential vaccination site, according to the White House.
The Administration has procured a significant supply of vaccines for this age group, with 10 million doses available initially and millions more available in the coming weeks. Vaccines will be available in package sizes of 100 doses, including small needles.
Vaccinations will be available at thousands of pediatric and primary care sites across the country, pediatricians' and other doctors' offices, community health centers, rural health clinics, children's hospitals, public health clinics, local pharmacies, and other community-based organizations.
Vaccinations will be available at convenient hours for children, parents and their guardians - including after school and evenings, and on weekends.
'What to Expect,' a platform covering more than 20 million mothers, will author a blog series featuring doctors and other experts answering questions about pediatric Covid vaccines, and how mothers, expecting mothers, and all parents can get the information they need to get their children vaccinated. New articles dispelling myths about the Covid vaccine and children also will be published.
(Amended: changes headline and second paragraph to clarify that the vaccine gets recommendation, not approval)
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