Vaccinating children 5 to 11 could protect another 9% of US population from Covid-19

If the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is authorized for children ages five to 11, more than 28 million additional people will be eligible to be vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a CNN analysis of data from the US Census Bureau.  

Currently, about 85% of the US population is eligible to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. But the five to 11 age group represents about 9% of the total United States population, which would bump it up to 94%.

According to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 63.8% of the total US population has received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine and 54.6% of the population is fully vaccinated. 

But adolescents are the least vaccinated group. About 57% of adolescents age 12 to 17 have received at least one dose and 46% are fully vaccinated, according to a CNN analysis of CDC data. Children 16 and up were included in the initial emergency use authorization of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and children ages 12 to 15 were added in May, more than four months ago.  

Covid-19 cases among children have increased 240% since July and recently hit a record high, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. As of Sept. 9, nearly 5.3 million children have tested positive for Covid-19.  ...