The U.S. moved a step closer to expanding COVID-19 vaccinations for millions more children as a panel of government advisers on Tuesday endorsed kid-size doses of Pfizer’s shots for 5- to 11-year-olds. A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted unanimously, with one abstention, that the vaccine’s benefits in preventing COVID-19 in that age group outweigh any potential risks — including a heart-related side effect that’s been very rare in teens and young adults despite their use of a much higher shot dose.
— PBS/AP, 10/26/21

Counting on the fact most Americans didn’t see the testimonies and deliberations because a federal committee meeting with this much on the line wasn’t broadcast live, the immediate perception is that it was a slam dunk. Granted, it was by way of final votes but there were segments the public should have had the opportunity to hear.

Segments that would have inserted some reasonable doubt as to the wisdom of giving healthy children an experimental vaccine with no real knowledge of how it will affect them today and tomorrow….

Following today’s vote, acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock is expected to shortly deliver the agency’s final determination on whether to authorize the vaccine for this age group. Once the FDA gives final approval, the next step is for a CDC vaccine expert panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, to review the vaccine’s safety and efficacy. That group would then vote on whether CDC Director Rochelle Walensky should recommend its use. The CDC committee is scheduled to meet on Nov. 2, and the CDC director will likely announce a final decision within hours, meaning these vaccines could be available as early as Nov. 3.
— Yahoo News, 10/26/21

And you know that means many states will mandate as soon as they can.

For the children….

However, it’s clear the scientists are not on the same page as the politically motivated.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted against green-lighting COVID-19 booster shots Friday for most people — throwing up a major hurdle for President Biden’s plan to dole out a third dose to most Americans.

The FDA is not bound to follow the advice of the independent advisory panel but has followed its guidance so far on COVID-19 vaccinations. Overall, the panel voted 16-2 not to recommend a third dose for people 16 years and up while unanimously green-lighting it for people 65 years and older.
— New York Post, 9/17/21

The following was presented during that seven-plus hour virtual meeting of the FDA’s “Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee”….

I’m sure CNN’s Don Lemon, whose main goal today remains bullying the unvaccinated, will never share the following report.

There are no active cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in 33 districts of Uttar Pradesh, the state government informed on Friday. About 67 districts have not reported a single new case of the viral infection in the last 24 hours, the government said, noting the steady improvement of the Covid-19 situation in the state.

Overall, the state has a total of 199 active cases, while the positivity rate came down to less than 0.01 per cent. The recovery rate, meanwhile, has improved to 98.7 per cent. As per the state’s health bulletin, Uttar Pradesh reported only 11 new Covid-19 cases and zero deaths in the last 24 hours.
— Hindustan Times, 9/10/21

According to FDA Advisory Committee member Steve Kirsch, Uttar Pradesh is almost totally unvaccinated.

Much of the information shared amongst committee members were sentiments that would result in “fact checker” warnings on a social media post, if not worse. This was a committee meeting that networks should have interrupted regular programming so the American people could have heard the genuine concerns of doctors and scientists instead of the bloviating on cable news and spin from Fauci and the White House.