(GPB) — Children between the ages of 5 and 11 may soon be eligible for a COVID vaccine.
An advisory committee with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is tentatively scheduled Oct. 26 to discuss Pfizer-BioNTech’s pediatric vaccine.
In late August, the FDA granted full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for those 16 and older.
The mRNA vaccine requires two shots given 21 days apart, and roughly 44% of Georgians are considered fully vaccinated.
An estimated 56% of the population has been infected at one time or another, according to the Georgia Institute of Technology.
READ: Georgia Parents Welcome Prospect Of COVID Vaccine OK For Young Children
Nearly five million people under age 18 have been vaccinated against COVID-19, said Dr. Winston Price, an associate professor of pediatrics with the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in South Georgia.
Some parents of Price’s patients say they are motivated to vaccinate their kids to avoid losing in-person class time.
“There has been a fairly good response by parents who want to have their children vaccinated,” Price said. “I was a little surprised at first, but they seem to be more anxious to have their kids in a safe school environment.”
Residents in those pockets of southern and rural communities, where vaccination rates hover around 35%, are most at risk, Price said.
“We really need to get those numbers across the state up,” he said, “because the virus will find its way to those vulnerable populations and communities where we have the vaccination rates under 40%.”
This story appears on Now Habersham through a news partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting
