Geneva, Switzerland — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday urged governments to refrain from vaccinating children against coronavirus until the elderly and at-risk worldwide have received the vaccine. The WHO plea comes after Canada authorized the use of the Pfizer vaccine on children, with other rich nations set to follow suit. Canada on Wednesday approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 12 and up, becoming the first nation to do so. The United States is also set to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 12-15-year-olds as early as next week, according to media reports. While such authorizations will open the way for millions more people to receive the vaccine in rich nations, such moves add to WHO concern over the contrast to the vaccine roll-out in Africa and elsewhere.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer May 07, 2021 19:07 UTC