US authorizes Pfizer Covid vaccine

International Live: The United States on Friday authorized the Pfizer Covid vaccine for children aged five-to-11, paving the way for 28 million young Americans to soon get immunized.

The decision came after a high-level medical panel advising the government this week endorsed the shots, ruling that the known benefits outweighed the risks of side-effects. The United States follows only a handful of other countries including China, Chile, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates that are inoculating younger children with various vaccines.

"As a mother and a physician, I know that parents, caregivers, school staff, and children have been waiting for today's authorization," said acting Food and Drug Administration chief Janet Woodcock in a statement.

Health authorities will continue to monitor for potentially highly rare side-effects, such as myocarditis and pericarditis (heart inflammation and inflammation around the heart). The clinical trials were too small to detect these, but the hypothesis is they will be exceedingly rare, because the effect is thought linked to
testosterone levels.

Dhaka, 30 October (campuslive24.com)//BSC

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