The COVID jabs for children ages five to 11 have not yet received an official approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but that does not bother the Biden administration. While the aforementioned agencies are already perceived by many Americans as not credible and corrupt, some basic protocol in the vaccines’ approval procedure is still expected to be followed. Much like with its premature announcement to inoculate all eligible Americans with Pfizer booster shots that subsequently only got limited approval, the White House has once again decided not to “follow,” but rather “lead” the science: On Wednesday, it announced that it is preparing to roll out the shots for children.
While the “independent” panels from the FDA and CDC are only scheduled to meet in late October and early November, respectively, to consider the proposal from Pfizer-BioNTech to vaccinate children, the Biden administration is already laying the groundwork to put a needle in every tiny arm.
According to a White House fact sheet, the start of a vaccination program for children ages five to 11 will depend on the FDA and CDC process and timeline, but “if a vaccine is authorized for use,” the administration wants to be ready to ensure it is “quickly distributed and made conveniently and equitably available to families across the country.” The White House did not say what will be done to the 28 million shots that are already purchased if the federal regulators do not authorize them.
The plan includes a couple of “critical” steps that would ensure “that we are staying ahead of the virus.”
First, the administration has already purchased a vaccine supply to inoculate all of “our nation’s children.” The sheet specifies that “the packaging configuration will be 10-dose vials in cartons of 10 vials each (100 doses total), delivered in a newly updated product shipper.” The shelf life of the jabs is 10 weeks at standard refrigeration temperatures and six months at ultra-cold temperatures. The vials will come with smaller needles to better “serve kids.”
Second, virtually wherever a family with small children goes, it would stumble upon a vaccination site, as more than 25,000 pediatric and primary-care provider sites will provide such a “service.” Moreover, there also will be “tens of thousands of other provider locations that serve children, including pharmacies, children’s hospitals, and community health centers,” per the plan. It is also planned to offer COVID shots in hundreds of schools and community-based clinics.
The logistical support of the vaccination campaign will be conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is tasked with “providing full funding to states to support vaccination operations and outreach — including setting up sites, procuring equipment and supplies to store and administer the vaccine, providing transportation to and from vaccination sites, and communicating with the public, such as through in-person community engagement, call center support, public service announcements, and translation services.”
The third step of the plan includes a propaganda campaign aimed at educating parents on vaccines’ “safety and effectiveness” and thus “building public trust.”
The fact sheet reads,
To ensure that parents have the information they need to make informed choices for their families, HHS (the Department of Health and Human Services) will conduct a national public education campaign to reach parents and guardians with accurate and culturally-responsive information about the vaccine and the risks that COVID-19 poses to children.
The plan details that the administration will “heavily invest” taxpayer dollars in “trusted messengers,” and work with schools, faith leaders, and local organizations among other various entities that would help to boost “vaccine confidence.”
Over 15,000 activists of the so-called COVID-19 Community Corps will also be involved in “mobilizing grassroots efforts to keep kids and their families safe.”
The administration signaled it was confident the vaccination of young Americans would become “another major milestone” in its efforts to build on the “historic progress” of getting two out three eligible Americans vaccinated against COVID and would help “protect even more Americans.”
Pfizer started testing its jabs on healthy six-month- to 11-year-old children at the end of March 2021.
On September 20, Pfizer-BioNTech announced results from a Phase 2/3 trial in children five to 11 years of age “showing a favorable safety profile and robust neutralizing antibody.” The regimen used in children was the same as in adults: two doses given 21 days apart. Participants received a third of a dose given to grown-ups, and generated antibody responses comparable to those recorded in people 16 to 25 years of age immunized with the full dose, per the announcement.
The FDA stated the evaluation of the safety data on the possible side effects in children would be based on “at least about two months” of follow-ups.
The New American reported last week that while the White House is planning its latest vaccination campaign, the majority of American parents are opposed to inoculation of children against COVID with experimental drugs whose possible side effects and mid- and long-term health implications are yet to be studied.
