PORTLAND, Ore. — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to approve Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for ages 12 and older by next week. Dr. Brad Olson, medical director of the Randall Children's Pediatric Care in Portland says it's welcome news.
"It's an opportunity for us to begin to protect that population," Olson said.
The Pfizer vaccine is currently the only vaccine approved for people 16 and older. So far, 40% of adults in the U.S. have been partially vaccinated.
Dr. Olson says vaccinating children of all ages is critical to stopping the pandemic.
"We're a way from herd immunity and the only way to get there is by having vaccines that are available to the entire population."
When it comes to children getting their shots, he hopes the minimum age drops below 12 by this fall.
"We're hopeful that by September the age range for the Pfizer vaccine will drop down to the age of 2," he said.
Dr. Olson says early on in the pandemic, only a small number of people under 18 were getting sick. But as the much of the older population has gotten their shots, transmission is on the rise among younger people.
In March, Pfizer shared preliminary results from a vaccine study involving kids 12 to 15. They vaccinated more than 2,000 volunteers in that age group and found no COVID-19 cases among them.
Side effects were similar to what young adults experienced, which was mostly pain, fever, chills and fatigue — especially after the second dose.
"The only to way protect people from this infection is either through vaccines or they get the disease," Dr. Olson said. "And vaccines are far safer than getting the disease."