An advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to meet on Tuesday, Oct. 26 to discuss approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.
Pfizer submitted data to the FDA early in October seeking emergency use authorization of the vaccine for younger children. Currently, the vaccine is only approved for use for children ages 12 and older.
If federal authorities at the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approve the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use for children, the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup and the California Department of Public Health would conduct their own evaluations and determine when and if providers in California, including the County, can begin to administer the vaccines.
The Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 is a lower dose and comes in different packaging to distinguish it from the one for people ages 12 and up. The Pfizer vaccines already in stock cannot be used because of the different dosing amounts. Orders for the children’s vaccine may begin to arrive in counties throughout California in early November, if approved.
Once the vaccine is here, residents will be able to make appointments for their children at myturn.ca.gov or vaccines.gov. We’ll keep you updated once the vaccine is available in an upcoming edition of the County Update and our website at sbcovid19.com.
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