FILE – In this Sept. 14, 2021, file photo, a health worker administers a dose of a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination clinic in Reading, Pa. U.S. health advisers have recommended COVID-19 vaccines for infants, toddlers and preschoolers — the last group without the shots. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
OAN NEWSROOM
UPDATED 12:32 PM PT – Sunday, June 19 2022
President Joe Biden praised the CDC’s decision to authorize Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for younger children. In a statement Saturday, Biden called the move a “monumental step.”
“For parents all over the country, this is a day of relief and celebration,” he said.
This comes after the FDA authorized the vaccines for children as young as six-months-old. Children will receive a two dose regimen for the Moderna vaccine and will be given three doses under the Pfizer vaccine. Biden said parents will be able to schedule vaccine appointments starting this week.
“As the first country to protect our youngest children with COVID-19 vaccines, my administration has been planning and preparing for this moment for months,” the president voiced. “Effectively securing doses and offering safe and highly effective mRNA vaccines for all children as young as six-months- old.”
Good news, folks: Vaccines for kids under 5 have now been authorized by the FDA and recommended by the CDC.
For the first time, virtually every American can access the protections from these lifesaving vaccines – from our youngest to our most senior Americans.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 18, 2022
Meanwhile, former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb predicted a slow coronavirus vaccine rollout for kids. During an interview on CBS Face the Nation Sunday, Gottlieb said only 30 percent of kids ages five to 11 have received two doses of the vaccine.
” I think it’s gonna be more of a slow roll out, relevant to what we’ve seen in past rollouts with other age groups,” Gottlieb stated. “There are going to be pharmacy’s that are giving vaccines. CVS is going to move it into their pharmacy’s, but their only moving it into the pharmacy’s with advanced care providers.”
Gottlieb believes the vaccine doesn’t ensure complete safety from the sickness, but will increase the baseline immunity against infection. A recent Keiser Family Foundation survey found just 18 percent of parents were eager to get their kids vaccinated. The current Pfizer board member predicts those numbers may be even lower.