FDA may authorize Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds this week

BATON ROUGE, La. – When will the COVID-19 vaccine be available for kids? 17 million children will hopefully be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine as early as this week with the approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

Many are wondering the same thing as we wait for the FDA to possibly authorize the emergency use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 this coming week.

This would allow middle and high school students in our area to get vaccinated against COVID-19 well before the start of the next school year.

The Pfizer shot claims to have “100% efficacy” in children as young as 12-years-old with side effects similar to those in young adults.

An FDA spokesperson declined to comment on its anticipated approval of an amendment to Pfizer’s emergency use authorization, saying that the regulator was “working to review this request as quickly and transparently as possible.”

We spoke to local health experts who are weighing in on the expected announcement.

“With some of the polling that’s been done, it looks like a little over half of parents are at this point planning to have their kids vaccinated even with the number being higher than that among the parents who themselves have gotten vaccinated,” said Dr. Jacob Wood, a Family Medicine Physician Baton Rouge General.

“I think this is the next reasonable population to go after to try to keep them safe and to keep those around them safe,” said Dr. Michael Bolton, Our Lady of the lake Program Co-Director, Pediatric Residency Program. “As a percent of folks who have COVID-19, kids are making up a higher percentage than they used to because we’re seeing far less in adults.”

The vaccine is currently authorized in the U.S. for emergency use in people 16 and older.

If and when the FDA gives Pfizer the thumbs up here, then the CDC would have to vote on recommending it, and then the director would then have to sign off.

The CDC has an emergency meeting on the books for this Wednesday.