Some parents eager to vaccinate their children under 12 against Covid-19 are hoping that the Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE ’s vaccine could make that happen even before the FDA authorizes shots for emergency use for that age group.
But the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have emphasized that the safest thing for this group of children is to wait for more data to be analyzed.
Monday’s decision prompted many parents to call their pediatricians and ask them whether they will administer vaccines for children under 12. The FDA’s approval generally means vaccines are eligible for off-label use, meaning beyond approved populations, but the CDC said Monday they aren’t authorizing that.
Pfizer’s vaccine is authorized for emergency use for children aged 12 and up and fully approved for those 16 and up. Moderna Inc.’s and Johnson & Johnson ’s vaccines are authorized only for those 18 and over and aren’t fully approved.
Parents are reporting mixed success. Some say they have been able to schedule appointments, while others say they have been refused.
