[JABS FOR TEENS]

FDA to Clear Pfizer Vaccine for 12- to 15-Year-Olds Next Week: Report

According to federal officials, the FDA will allow Pfizer to start administering its vaccine to kids ages 12 to 15 as early as the end of this week.

The Food and Drug Administration is getting ready to authorize the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 12 to 15, according to a New York Times report. The authorization may be announced as early as late this week, according to unnamed federal officials. This comes a few weeks after Pfizer reported that none of the adolescents in the company’s clinical trials developed symptomatic COVID-19. An FDA rep was tight-lipped on a potential announcement, saying, “We can assure the public we are working to review this request as quickly and transparently as possible.” Pharma rival Moderna is also expected to soon have data ready from a trial with children ages 12-17, followed by another trial involving 6-month-olds through 12-year-olds. However, some, like Johns Hopkins Epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo, are questioning why the U.S. is prioritizing vaccinating children, who are at “low risk of serious complications from the virus,” while other countries don’t have enough vaccine for their high-risk populations.