- Despite the three FDA-approved COVID -19 vaccines in circulation, the U.S. has recently seen a drop in its vaccination rates.
- The Biden administration targets to vaccinate 70% of adults by July 4, a goal that could be harder to achieve because of that slowdown, says CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner.
- President Biden’s chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci estimates that 70% - 85% of the population needs immunity to the virus - either through prior infection or from vaccination – to halt the COVID-19 spread.
- The U.S. may depend on giving immunization to high school students by the fall to reach that level, he added.
- That next step of the vaccination drive will get a boost next week after CDC convened an emergency meeting of an expert panel likely to discuss an expansion of the authorization granted for Pfizer (NYSE:PFE -3.3%) and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX -9.1%) COVID-19 vaccine to those aged 12 – 15 years.
- Regarding the label expansion of the vaccine, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla noted on the company’s recent earnings call: “We expect to hear back shortly from the FDA on our application for expanded emergency use authorization for our COVID-19 vaccine to include individuals 12 to 15 years of age.”
- Meanwhile, based on an initial analysis of Phase 2/3 data Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA -6.8%) said that its COVID-19 vaccine has shown a 96% of efficacy against COVID-19 in adolescents aged 12 - 17 years.
- However, the company gave no timeline for a possible expansion of its existing FDA authorization.