Adviser: Vaccines ‘good choices’ for kids under 5
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha on Monday heralded the recent authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for kids under the age of 5, saying it gives parents “two good choices.”
- Over the weekend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the final sign-off to Moderna’s and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines for children under age 5, the last group of people in the U.S. to be permitted to receive coronavirus immunizations.
- Appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday, Jha told host George Stephanopoulos that both vaccines were “exceedingly safe” and effective.
Pfizer’s vaccine is administered in three doses while Moderna’s is administered with two doses.
Should parents wait?: Stephanopoulos asked Jha if parents of children close to turning 5 should wait until they’re older so that they can receive the stronger dose.
“What I personally think — you should go ahead and get your child vaccinated if they’re right on that cusp. You maybe want to talk to your pediatrician or family physician, but really the bottom line is we’ve got safe, effective vaccines for 4- and 5-year-olds, so it probably doesn’t matter hugely,” said Jha.
