Dr. Dave Hnida: COVID Vaccines For 5 To 11 Year Olds Important For Their Health, And The Community's

DENVER (CBS4) - The FDA Advisory Committee meets Tuesday to review research about giving children between the ages of five and 11 the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. The CDC has a meeting scheduled for next week.

The agency says the Pfizer pediatric vaccine is nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID cases.

CBS4 Medical Editor Dr. Dave Hnida discussed vaccines for children on CBSN Denver ahead of the hearings.

He said the process for these younger children will be on a smaller and more personalized level than the mass clinics we saw when the vaccines were first approved for adults.

"I think parents are going to have the opportunity, much more than we did, to ask questions about the vaccines and be reassured that the vaccines truly are safe and truly are effective," Hnida said.

"I think it's important to understand that kids do need to be vaccinated," he went on. "I know that a lot of folks say, 'Well, you know COVID really isn't that big of a deal in young children.' Some kids do wind up having issues with severe COVID. They can be hospitalized. They can also suffer from long haul COVID. That's a big problem."

Hnida said getting kids vaccinated could also decrease the arguments about masks. He said it will also help protect the community.

He also said those recently approved boosters for adults will also help protect the community as well getting flu shots.