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Decision about Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine approval for teens in US coming soon: Fauci

WION Web Team
Washington, United StatesUpdated: May 06, 2021, 12:06 PM IST
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Photograph:(AFP)

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Canada became the first country to approve the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in children aged 12 years and up

White House chief medical advisor, Anthony Fauci, has assured that a positive decision about Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for children aged 12-15 will be announced soon.

"I think it is going to be very soon," he said during an interview with a local news channel. "I mean, I don’t want to get ahead of the FDA, but I believe it is going to be within several days. I cannot imagine it is going to be much longer than that."

Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla has jumped a step ahead and claimed the announcement of the vaccine for children will be announced soon by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The group of medical experts is scheduled to meet on May 12 to review the use of Pfizer’s vaccine shot for adolescents — which is a subtle hint that the authorisation process has already begun in the US.

In a bid to vaccinate as many children as possible, the US President, Joe Biden, has announced that the federal government is ready to "immediately move to make about 20,000 pharmacy sites across the country ready to vaccinate those adolescents." He has also assured teenagers that they can get vaccinated at two different places if they are moving this summer.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Canada became the first country to approve the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in children aged 12 years and up.

"This is the first vaccine authorized in Canada for the prevention of Covid-19 in children and marks a significant milestone in Canada's fight against the pandemic," Health Canada chief medical advisor Supriya Sharma told a news conference.