Children under five years old could begin to receive vaccinations against COVID-19 as early as June 21, a top Biden administration official said Thursday. Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s COVID response coordinator, told reporters at a briefing: “We expect that vaccinations will begin in earnest as early as Tuesday, June 21, and really roll on throughout that week,” if the Food and Drug Administration authorizes the vaccines. “Our expectation is that within weeks, every parent who wants their child to get vaccinated would be able to get an appointment,” he said. An FDA advisory panel is scheduled to meet June 15 to discuss the vaccines made by Pfizer and BioNTech as well as Moderna .
The news comes as U.S. cases seem to be stabilizing again after a steady climb caused by omicron and its subvariants. The U.S. is averaging 101,348 cases a day, down 3% from two weeks ago, according to a New York Times tracker. The country is averaging 27,243 hospitalizations a day, up 14% from two weeks ago. The daily death toll has fallen to 281 on average, down 7% from two weeks ago. Cases are stabilizing in states in the Northeast that were recent hotspots. On a global basis, total cases are now above 530.8 million. Total deaths are above 6.29 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, with the U.S. still leading the way with 84.5 million cases and 1,008,031 deaths.
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