Pfizer said today its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11 and that it will seek U-S authorization for this age group soon.
The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech is already available for anyone 12 and older in the U-S, Canada, and around the world.
“Over the past nine months, hundreds of millions of people ages 12 and older from around the world have received our COVID-19 vaccine. We are eager to extend the protection afforded by the vaccine to this younger population, subject to regulatory authorization, especially as we track the spread of the Delta variant and the substantial threat it poses to children,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer.
“Since July, pediatric cases of COVID-19 have risen by about 240 percent in the U.S. – underscoring the public health need for vaccination. These trial results provide a strong foundation for seeking authorization of our vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old, and we plan to submit them to the FDA and other regulators with urgency.”
For elementary school-aged kids, Pfizer tested a much lower dose — a third of the amount that’s in each shot given now.
“We are pleased to be able to submit data to regulatory authorities for this group of school-aged children before the start of the winter season,” said Dr. Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech. “The safety profile and immunogenicity data in children aged 5 to 11 years vaccinated at a lower dose are consistent with those we have observed with our vaccine in other older populations at a higher dose.”
Pfizer’s senior vice president told The Associated Press that after their second dose, children ages 5 to 11 developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teenagers and young adults
Pfizer notes that these are the first results from a pivotal trial of a COVID-19 vaccine in this age group.
Graham Cox
