HARRISBURG, Pa. — It's been almost four months since children between the ages of 12 and 15-years-old were given the green light to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
As children adapt to a new year of in-person learning, top U.S. health professionals are fast-tracking the availability of vaccines for children age between 5 and 11-years-old.
Pfizer has announced it will provide study results for the vaccine on this age group to the Food and Drug Administration for approval.
The FDA has said upon receiving this information, it may only take a matter of weeks to analyze the data.
Dr. Scott Gottleib, who now sits on the board for Pfizer, says the pharmaceutical company may get approval from the administration by Oct. 31.
The decision may bring hope to millions hoping to reach herd immunity as the nation continues to battle against the spread of COVID-19 and its variants.
The American Association of Pediatrics has reported 5.3 million new COVID-19 cases were found in children as of Sept. 9, which is 28.9% of the weekly cases that were reported.
The Association says this is an exponential increase as more than 240,000 new cases were found in children, a 240% increase than the more than 71,000 cases that were reported in early July.
Health experts are urging those who are eligible for the vaccine to receive it, and those who are not should continue practicing safety guidelines, such as wearing a mask and social distancing.