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American Kids Can Wait

The U.S. should delay shots for children until global vaccine-manufacturing capacity significantly expands and the crisis in India subsides.
Source: Adam Maida / The Atlantic

Updated at 12:27 p.m. ET on May 24, 2021.

In the coming months, the United States and other rich nations will have the opportunity to save hundreds of thousands of lives threatened by COVID-19 in South Asia. On Monday, the FDA authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in children ages 12 to 15. But in the name of global equity, Americans should delay vaccination of our own children until global vaccine-manufacturing capacity significantly expands and the crisis in India subsides. Such a delay would mobilize , which could be used almost immediately in hard-hit regions overseas. Especially now, as the supply remains limited, leading nations should

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