Earlier today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the expansion of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine use to children aged 12-15. 

“The FDA has determined that Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has met the statutory criteria to amend the EUA, and that the known and potential benefits of this vaccine in individuals 12 years of age and older outweigh the known and potential risks, supporting the vaccine’s use in this population,” states the FDA news release. 

Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D says that the move marks a “significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

“Today’s action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic. Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations,” she said.

The most common side effects reported by participants in the adolescent clinical trial were:

• Pain at injection site
• Tiredness
• Headache
• Chills and fever
• Muscle and joint pain

Americans can expect to receive the vaccine once the CDC adopts the recommendation. The Biden administration has already announced that 15,000 pharmacy locations across the United States will be able to quickly begin administering vaccinations to kids. 

As of the time of writing, the United States has more than 32 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 according to John Hopkins University data.

Further information about the COVID-19 vaccines can be found here.

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