SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH- After the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for children between 6 months and 5 years, Utah doctors have valued and supported the FDA’s decision.
Children under 5 are the last age group left in the US to be vaccinated, and many parents have been anxiously awaiting approval from health authorities to protect their little ones.
Andrew Pavia, MD, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Utah and director of epidemiology at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, welcomed this decision.
Pavia said Pizer’s vaccine for children under 5 is one-tenth the adult dose. Three injections are needed: the first two are given three weeks apart, and the last at least two months later.
Moderna’s vaccine consists of two injections, each a quarter of the adult dose, given four weeks apart for children under 6 years of age.
They are expected to be available to children in Utah beginning next week. The Utah Department of Health indicates that by not having been vaccinated, children represent a greater risk than the rest of the population.
This means that approximately 18 million children under the age of 5 are eligible for vaccines, about a year and a half after vaccines first became available in the US for adults, who have been hardest hit during the pandemic. .
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