COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 years old were authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday and by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday, a welcome relief to parents of the last age group to become eligible for shots.
“Today is a monumental step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus, with virtually every American now eligible for the protections that COVID-19 vaccines provide,’’ President Joe Biden said in a June 18 statement. The authorizations come “after a rigorous and independent scientific review,” he said.
Although the move will help protect children from infection and serious disease, vaccine hesitancy still looms in the U.S. population where more than 40% of people who qualify for immunization aren’t fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
