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News > U.S.

Pfizer Requests FDA to Allow COVID-19 Jabs for Children 5-11

  •  If approved, Pfizer's mRNA shot would be the only COVID vaccine available for children in the United States.

    If approved, Pfizer's mRNA shot would be the only COVID vaccine available for children in the United States. | Photo: Twitter @komonews

Published 7 October 2021
Opinion

The FDA must now decide whether there is sufficient evidence that the shots are safe and will work for younger children in the same way they do for teens and adults. On October 26, an independent expert panel will hold a public debate on the evidence.

Pfizer officially requested the U.S. government on Thursday to allow the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11, and if approved, shots could be ready within a matter of weeks.

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Many parents and pediatricians are concerned about protecting children under 12, the age limit for the vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. The concern lies not only in that children sometimes get seriously ill, but keeping them in school poses another challenge as the coronavirus still ravages poorly vaccinated communities. 

Pfizer announced on Twitter that it had formally filed its application with the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA must now decide whether there is sufficient evidence that the shots are safe and will work for younger children as they do for teens and adults. On October 26, an independent expert panel will hold a public debate on the evidence.

While children are at a lower risk of serious illness or death than adults, COVID-19 does occasionally kill children, and cases in children have surged as the extra-contagious delta form has swept the country.

Pfizer tested the lower dose on 2,268 volunteers aged 5 to 11 and found no major negative effects. The study is too small to detect any extremely rare side effects, such as heart inflammation, which occurs occasionally after the second dose of the regular-strength vaccine, mostly in young men.

If the FDA approves the use of child-sized doses in an emergency, there will be another obstacle before immunization in this age range may begin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's advisors will decide whether to recommend the shots for children, and the CDC will make a final decision.

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