The US government and Pfizer have already begun distributing the vaccine in preparation for a widespread roll-out for children, many of whom are back in school for in-person learning.
“We’ve shipped to dozens of states already over the weekend and Monday,” Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla said in an interview. “There is a Herculean effort so there will be doses available everywhere.”
Earlier this week, the White House said the United States has enough supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for all 28 million children aged five to 11.
While some children may be able to get their first shots as soon as Wednesday, the plans is for the US paediatric vaccine program to be running at full strength by next week, a Biden administration official said.
Only a few other countries, including China, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates, have so far cleared COVID-19 vaccines for children in this age group and younger.
In the United States, around 58 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated, lagging other nations such as the United Kingdom and France.
The share of young children who receive the shots may be even lower. Only about 47 per cent of US youth aged 12 to 15 are vaccinated.
US states with the highest adult COVID-19 vaccination rates are planning a big vaccine push compared with states where hesitancy remains strong, potentially widening the gaps in protection nationwide, public health officials and experts have said.
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