Sep 21, 2021 - Health

Fauci: COVID vaccine could be available for children 5–11 in "weeks"

Ivana Saric

NIAID director Anthony Fauci told CNN Tuesday that children ages 5–11 could be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines in the next several weeks.

Why it matters: The start of the school year brought a rise in COVID-19 infections among kids, underscoring questions about when younger children will be able to be inoculated against the virus.

The big picture: "I would imagine we're talking in a matter of weeks, possibly by the end of the month, beginning of next month because I know the FDA really wants to do it correctly, but they want to do it quickly," Fauci said on CNN's "New Day."

This is a quicker timeline than the one Fauci proposed just days earlier, when he indicated the vaccine could be available to children by Halloween.

State of play: Pfizer announced Monday that results from its pediatric trial indicate that its vaccine — in a smaller dosage than given to adults — is safe and effective in children ages 5–11.

Some parents have sought to best the slow timeline of FDA approval by searching for COVID-19 vaccine trials for their children.

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Fauci: COVID vaccine could be available for children 5–11 in "weeks"

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