SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – The Utah Department of Health issued a statement Tuesday following an FDA advisory committee’s endorsement of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11.
UDOH issued the following statement:
Today’s vote by the FDA’s independent advisory committee recommending emergency use authorization of Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 is a significant step in addressing the pandemic.
UDOH has pre-ordered 109,000 pediatric doses, which will be shipped to providers throughout the state beginning Oct. 29. Additional pediatric doses will be available to order on a weekly basis beginning in early November.
The FDA still needs to accept the advisory committee’s recommendation and the vaccine must also be authorized by the CDC before these doses can be administered. Vaccine providers should wait for these steps to be complete before administering COVID-19 vaccine doses to 5-11-year-olds.
According to UDOH, there are approximately 365,000 Utah children between the ages of 5-11 who are eligible for the vaccine.
The CDC’s independent advisory committee (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) is scheduled to meet Nov. 2-3 to make its recommendation.
