Growing Calls in the US for 'Children's Vaccination' Amid Delta Variant Spread

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] As COVID-19 Delta variant spreads in the United States, leading to an increase in infections among children, calls are growing to authorize vaccination for those under 12 years old.

According to the daily newspaper The Guardian on the 10th (local time), an analysis by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) showed that last week, newly confirmed cases among those under 12 in the U.S. reached 94,000, accounting for 15% of all confirmed cases.

Mark Klein, a pediatrician at a hospital in New Orleans, said, "The positivity rate among outpatients increased from 1% a month ago to 20%," adding, "Eighteen children are receiving intensive care at the hospital, and among them, three?including a 3-month-old baby?are on ventilators."

Lee Savio Beers, president of the AAP, sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging the rapid approval of vaccinations for those under 12.

In the letter, he stated, "Last week saw the largest increase in the proportion of pediatric patients since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic," and added, "The Delta variant poses an urgent risk to adolescents and children, just as it does to unvaccinated adults."

The FDA granted emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for those aged 16 and older in December last year, and for those aged 12 to 15 in April this year. However, Pfizer-BioNTech has not yet applied for emergency use authorization for children aged 5 to 11.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.