FDA Approves EUA for Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine for Patients Aged 5 to 11 Years
The FDA announced its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for pediatric patients aged 5 years through 11 years. The authorization was based on the FDA's thorough and transparent assessment of the data, including input from independent advisory-committee experts who overwhelmingly voted in favor of making the vaccine available to pediatric patients in this age group. Read more.

Study Explores Low-Dose Amoxicillin Use Against Pediatric Pneumonia
Because the optimal dose and duration of oral amoxicillin for pediatric patients with community-acquired pneumonia are uncertain, researchers sought to determine whether lower-dose amoxicillin is noninferior to higher-dose and whether 3-day treatment is noninferior to 7 days. The study was published in JAMA. Read more.

The Pros and Cons of Pharmacy Compounding
The FDA defines traditional pharmacy compounding as "the combining, mixing, or altering of ingredients to create a customized medication for an individual patient in response to a licensed practitioner's prescription." There are numerous pros to compounded medications. They allow for customized, flexible, and precise dosing and are necessary when an FDA-approved drug product is not available or appropriate or for which the usual strength or route of delivery must be altered. At the same time, serious patient illnesses and death have been linked to poor-quality compounding drugs. Read more.