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According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), child-sized doses of Pfizer-COVID-19 BioNTech’s vaccine appear to be safe and effective for children under the age of five.
The FDA scientists’ analysis was published online ahead of a meeting on Wednesday for the agency’s independent experts, who will consider applications from both Pfizer and Moderna to vaccinate the nation’s youngest children, according to the Xinhua news agency.
Children under the age of five are the only group in the United States who are not yet eligible for Covid-19 vaccination.
According to the FDA’s analysis of Pfizer’s data, rates of hospitalization and death due to Covid-19 were higher among children under the age of five than among those aged five to 17, “underscoring the benefit of an effective Covid vaccine in this age group”.
The FDA also noted that among children aged five and older who are already eligible for Pfizer’s vaccine, the shots have helped prevent hospitalization and other serious outcomes, including this year, when the virus’s highly contagious Omicron variant and its rapidly evolving sub-variants became dominant.
The FDA’s announcement comes as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association reported 88,000 child Covid-19 cases in the week ending June 9, according to a report released on Monday.
Over 13.5 million children have tested positive for Covid-19 since the pandemic began in early 2020, with nearly 395,000 cases added in the last four weeks.
According to the report, approximately 5.6 million child Covid-19 cases will be added in 2022.
Child cases are significantly higher than they were a year ago around mid-June.
Source:OCN
