While majority of adults across the globe have received the COVID-19 vaccines, attempts are being made to vaccinated children under the age of 18 as soon as possible. The children under the mentioned age, continue to remain vulnerable of the virus and this is a critical time to vaccinate them as the schools and other institutions reopen. By the end of next week, Washington is expecting nearly 316,000 doses of the kid-sized COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer.
The doses will be meant for the children between the age 5 and 11. The state health officials said on October 27, 2021 that a federal authorization is pending. Talking about the kid-sized dose, a single dose is equivalent to one-third of an adult Pfizer vaccine dose. However, the vaccine still needs an emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration and will also need a guidance from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The committees are expected to meet next week.
Lacy Fehrenbach, the deputy Secretary for COVID-19 response at the State Department of Health said that nearly 1,284 infections were identified with 189 outbreaks in the schools of Washington. 42 outbreaks were recorded in August, while 147 were recorded in the month of September that was the highest to occur in a month. It was found that 88 percent of the cases had occurred in the students under the age of 19 and younger. The Deputy Secretary has urged the families to keep a note of the distinctions while interpreting the new data.
During the Delta Wave in the month of August and September, it recorded the highest levels of community transmission. Fehrenbach added that during the course of the pandemic the infections among the school students were related to the amount of disease in the community. On the other hand majority of the district schools faced a limited outbreak with just a few children.
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