Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Shots For Under 5s Will Be Ready By Feb. 21 — If They're Approved, That Is
CNBC: The CDC Still Needs To Approve Young Kids’ Covid Shots, But It’s Telling Health Agencies To Expect Delivery By Feb. 21
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t yet approved Covid-19 vaccines for kids under 5, but it’s laying the groundwork to distribute the shots, telling state and local health officials they could receive their first shipments by Feb. 21. The CDC plans to roll out 10 million doses in three phases as soon as the Food and Drug Administration authorizes the lower-dose, 3-microgram Pfizer and BioNTech shot for children 6 months to 4 years old, according to a new planning document quietly issued Sunday. State and local health officials could start preordering the first doses Monday and will start receiving vaccine shipments on Presidents Day, according to the CDC. (Kimball, 2/9)
The Washington Post: CDC To Quickly Roll Out 10 Million Doses If Vaccine For Young Children Is Authorized
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told coronavirus vaccine providers to be ready to receive shots for children younger than 5 by Feb. 21 — just a week after the Food and Drug Administration is expected to make its recommendation on emergency-use authorization. If the vaccine receives the green light, an initial 10 million doses are expected to be ready for shipment, with the first half of the batch available on Feb. 21 and the second on Feb. 25, according to an updated pediatric vaccination planning guide released this week. (Cheng and Timsit, 2/10)
The New York Times: F.D.A. Advisors Weigh Shots For The Very Young, With Key Data Outstanding
Scientific advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will decide next week whether to endorse giving two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to children 6 months to 4 years of age, before clinical trials have shown whether a full course of three doses is effective. Such an authorization would be a first for the agency, many experts say. Interim results suggested that two doses of the vaccine did not produce a strong immune response in children aged 2 through 4. Results from trials of the third dose are expected in a few weeks. (Mandavilli, 2/10)
NBC News: Covid Vaccines For Tots And Babies Could Help Biden With Burned-Out Parents
Elana Banin is counting down the seconds until she can get her baby and toddler vaccinated — a moment she is hoping will finally lift a weight that has continued to bear down on her and similar parents nearly two years into the pandemic. “There isn’t a day or a minute that goes by that we aren’t acutely aware that our kids are at risk and all of our decisions are calculated accordingly,” Banin, who lives in New York City, said. “Our lives revolve around the fact that they aren’t vaccinated, which in a way I hope desperately will change the second the vaccine is available for their age group. We will be first in line.” (Pettypiece and Seitz-Wald, 2/10)
The New York Times: The Next Vaccine Debate: Immunize Young Children Now, Or Wait?
Even if vaccination of young children begins in April, it will be summer before they have had three doses, noted Dr. Diego Hijano, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and an investigator for the Pfizer-BioNTech trial. “For sure, by summer we may have a variant of concern that’s spreading around.” (Mandavilli, 2/9)
In related research about covid in children —
CIDRAP: Study Reveals Risk Factors For Severe COVID-19, Related Syndrome In Kids
A prospective cohort study of US children diagnosed as having COVID-19 reveals that certain demographic characteristics, preexisting chronic diseases, and initial vital sign and lab values may portend disease severity, a finding that the researchers said could help improve outcomes. The University of Colorado-led study involved 167,262 COVID-19 patients 18 years and younger tested for COVID-19 at 56 US National COVID Cohort Collaborative facilities up to Sep 24, 2021, before the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. (2/9)
