The Washington Post is reporting that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials are telling vaccine providers to prepare for a Feb 21 rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months to 4 years, just 1 week after advisers from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are set to vote on an emergency authorization of the vaccine.The updated pediatric COVID-19 vaccine operational guide says that, upon approval, 10 million doses of the vaccine will be ready to ship on Feb 21 and Feb 25.
There are 18 million US children ages 6 months to 4 years, and all will require at least two doses of the vaccine.Initial data showed that two doses of the vaccine did not generate a significant immune response in young children, and a third dose will likely be needed.
Those findings, as well as safety issues, will be discussed next week during a meeting of the FDA's VRBPAC (Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.)The CDC COVID Data Tracker shows 64.2% of Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, 75.7% have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 42.5% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster shot.More states lift mask mandatesAlmost exactly 2 years after the first US COVID-19 outbreak was identified in Seattle-area nursing homes, Washington state Gov.
Jay Inslee said yesterday that the state's outdoor mask mandate will be lifted on Feb 18, ABC News reports. The mandate was for venues of 500 people or more.Inslee said next week he will address indoor mask mandates.Rhode Island also announced it will lift its mask or proof-of-vaccination requirement for indoor businesses tomorrow, and plans on ending the statewide school mask mandate early next month, the