COVID Vaccines Should Be Given To VA, DC Kids Under 5: FDA Advisers

VIRGINIA — 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 youngsters in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

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, although 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 youths ages 12 to 17 and half-sized doses for those 6 to 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.

In Virginia, 11 children under 10 have died from COVID-19 since the state started reporting data in March 2020, according to the health department's website. Also in Virginia, 153,130 children 9 and under have tested positive for COVID since start of pandemic and 905 children age 9 and under have been hospitalized since the start of pandemic.

Virginia's overall positivity rate is currently 17.9 percent.

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