CDC data shows hundreds of thousands of children under age 12 have been vaccinated
Millions of children in that age range became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine last week
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}More than 432,000 children under the age of 12 are at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The agency reported that the age group represents more than 7% of the people who got their first shot over the last two weeks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The CDC officially recommended the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5-11 on Nov. 2, following prior approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), opening up vaccinations to 28 million kids across the country.
Earlier this month, the White House assured that the government has enough of the Pfizer vaccine for all of that age group.
A young patient, who was about to receive the first shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, picks out a sticker as a reward, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021, at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
"We're in great shape on supply," White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said during a briefing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Zients said Wednesday that about 900.000 kids in that age group will have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in their first week of eligibility and about 700,000 first-shot appointments are scheduled for the coming days.
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Nearly 20,000 pharmacies, clinics and physicians' offices are administering the doses to younger kids, and those who get their first of two shots by the end of next week will be fully vaccinated by Christmas.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At the end of October, the FDA affirmed results from Pfizer showing that its two-dose shot was nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infection in young children.
While children are less likely to suffer severe COVID-19 infections, with the delta variant, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said kids get infected and transmit "just as readily as adults do."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}More than 2 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in U.S. children ages 5 to 11 since the pandemic started, according to the CDC, including 66 deaths over the past year.
Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are still being tested.
The Associated Press contributed to this report