US health officials said they would soon be ready to start vaccinating children. Teens in the US have been allowed the Pfizer vaccine as the FDA extended approval on Monday to the drug for children aged 12 to 15.
The two-dose vaccine was approved in December for everyone over the age of 16. Now American doctors, after a series of additional tests, are ready to begin giving these vaccines to adolescents.
Expanding eligibility to include a younger age group can give impetus to an immunization campaign. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States, the daily number of people receiving the first dose has plummeted from a peak of 1.9 million people a day to about 830,000 people a day.
Canada is the only country to approve the COVID-19 vaccine for young teens - since May 5, authorities have authorized the Pfizer vaccine for use in people 12 and older.