COVID Vaccines Should Be Given To FL Kids Under 5: FDA Advisers

FLORIDA — The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are safe for kids under 5, an expert panel of advisers for the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

The vaccines still need to be authorized by the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before they can be administered to Florida youngsters.

In Florida, 187,307 children under the age of 5 have tested positive for COVID-19 since the state started collecting data in March 2020.

The Pfizer vaccine would be for children six months to through 4 years, and the Moderna vaccine would be for children six months through 5 years.

The FDA posted analyses over the past week that showed Pfizer and Moderna shots for young kids are safe and effective — the panel recommendation on Wednesday was intended to serve as an important step in vetting the shots in public, though the FDA was not required to follow the recommendation, AP reported.

The same advisory group that approved the shots for kids under 5 said Tuesday that Moderna's vaccine is safe and effective enough to give kids ages 6 to 17, after it was held up for months while the FDA investigated a rare side effect, heart inflammation, in teens, according to the Associated Press.

The vote Tuesday said that two doses — full-strength for 12-17 and half-sized doses for those 6-11 — are safe for kids ages 6 to 17.

"The data do support that the benefits outweigh the risks for both of these doses, in both of these age groups," said the CDC's Dr. Melinda Wharton, a member of the panel, according to the AP.

The positivity rate now for all ages is in the range of 20 to 24.9 percent in Florida, according to the CDC.

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