"Today, the US Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 to include children 5 through 11 years of age," the FDA said in a press release.
Last Saturday, FDA released a report in which it indicated that the predicted benefits from the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children of this age exceeded the risks of side effects. A day prior to that, vaccine developer companies Pfizer and BioNTech said that their vaccine had demonstrated over 90% efficacy in children aged 5 to 11.
In the paper, the firms did, however, note the risk of post-vaccination myocarditis in youngsters.
Those above the age of 12 are currently allowed to take the Pfizer vaccine in an emergency, and those aged 16 and up are fully sanctioned. COVID-19 has infected at least 1.8 million children aged 5 to 11 in the US since the outbreak began, with at least 143 children in this age group dying as a result.