The Pfizer laboratory has reported that its vaccine to immunize children between the ages of 5 and 11 It will be available for the countries of the European Union “as of December 13”.
This was announced by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at a press conference in Brussels, in which she call on the European population to be vaccinated and confirm that the European Union has sufficient doses to cover the inoculation of a booster dose to all Europeans already vaccinated.
Pfizer’s vaccine for children between 5 and 11 years old received last week the approval of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The dose will be less than that used in people 12 years of age or older (10 a.m. to 30 p.m.) but it will also be administered in two injections in the muscles of the upper arm, three weeks apart.
According to the data provided by the Commission, 76% of the adult population in the European Union has already been vaccinated with the full pattern, but there are still very low rates in countries like Bulgaria or Romania.
The head of the Community Executive has also vindicated the importance of maintaining prevention measures that have to do with maintaining the use of the mask, respect the physical distance and do not forget the hygiene as fundamental tools to continue fighting against the advance of the pandemic.
Regarding the omicron variant, whose first cases were formally reported on the 24th in South Africa, but already infected patients in the Netherlands days before, Von der Leyen has conceded that “not much is known yet” about its ability to spread and virulence, but he has insisted that “Enough is known to be concerned”.
In this sense, Von der Leyen has pointed out that it will take between two or three weeks to have clearer data and has stressed the need to act quickly to prevent the EU from becoming a “focus” of the variant, especially by reinforcing the tracking to isolate cases and working on sequencing.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
