COVID-19 JAB ON VACCINES FOR CHILDREN SCHEDULE IN USA

  Today the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met to discuss and vote on whether or not to add the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna to the list of recommended childhood vaccines for children six months and older. In a unanimous vote, the ACIP approved the addition. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are still under emergency use authorization (EUA), making their consideration and approval for inclusion on the Vaccines for Children (VFC) schedule unprecedented.
   On October 12, the FDA approved a EUA for the omicron vaccine version from Pfizer for children five and older. The Moderna version earned a EUA for children six and older. The CDC immediately followed suit. Neither agency convened its advisory committees to evaluate the data. The original vaccine series is authorized under a EUA for children older than six months.
  The committee emphasized that adding the COVID vaccines to the VFC ensured access to families who cannot afford vaccines and reiterated that the agency does not issue vaccine mandates for school attendance. These statements are performative, as it is well-established that states and school districts use the VFC to issue mandates.