After Canada, 12 to 15-year-olds will now have a Pfizer vaccine in the US
Countries around the world are running vaccination programs to prevent corona. In India, all citizens above the age of 18 years have started getting vaccinated, while the US has now decided to start vaccination for children of 12 to 15 years so that when they reach school, they will be safe.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine for children between the ages of 12 and 15 years.
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in adolescents (12-15 years) in another important action in the fight against pandemic: FDA pic.twitter.com/1ScIC6823d
— ANI (@ANI) May 10, 2021
According to a report published in Amar Ujala, FDA acting commissioner Dr Janet Woodcock said that,
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the decision regarding the use of the vaccine will help to return to normalcy. He said that parents of children can be confident that the FDA has taken a serious look at the available data.
Let me tell you that of course the US government has decided to introduce the Covid-19 vaccine to 12 to 15-year-olds, but it is not the first country to do so. Canada has already decided to get Pfizer’s vaccine given to children above 12 years of age.
Pfizer’s vaccine is being used in many countries for adolescents up to 16 years of age. Earlier, vaccines were being given to all people above 16 years of age in the US and Canada.
According to a report by Financial Express, Pfizer had released the initial results of the vaccine trial at the end of March 2021 on 2 thousand 260 volunteers of 12 to 15 years, with good results.
Children who were given both doses of vaccine did not have corona infection, whereas children who were given a dummy injection showed infection. Vaccine users also had side effects such as fever and chills. The health of these children will be monitored for the next two years.
According to an India Today report, Pfizer’s Senior Vice President, Doctor Bill Gruber has said that for us, this is an important moment in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
When will the Pfizer vaccine arrive in India?
Pfizer’s vaccine showed 92% to 95% potential against corona infection in all its trials. The name of this vaccine is BNT162b2, which has also been included in the list of effective and safe corona vaccine by the World Health Organization (WHO).
But even before its arrival in India, the Pfizer company has placed a condition. Pfizer has said that it will give its Covid-19 vaccine only through government contracts. This means that this vaccine may not be found in private hospitals of the country unless the government gives this vaccine to these private institutions.
Pfizer has not yet done any trial in India. The company was seeking emergency approval from the Indian government only based on the results of tests conducted in the US and other countries.
However, the company had decided to withdraw its application on 5 February 2021. At that time, an expert panel of CDSCO had raised questions about this vaccine and said that there should be local trials of this vaccine so that it can be known what effect this vaccine is having on Indians.
However, because of the pace of corona infection in India, the government has decided in early April that vaccines that have received emergency approval in the US, UK, Europe and Japan and which are included in the WHO emergency use list, They should be allowed to use it in India without local trials. So it is expected that the Pfizer vaccine can come to India soon.
Written by Nishant Chandravanshi