Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for young children aged 5-11 appears highly effective: US FDA

FDA reviewers are yet to approve Pfizer’s jab for emergency use authorisation for the younger age bracket.

Key Highlights

• If the FDA authorises the vaccine, the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention will push with additional recommendations

• The FDA review has reaffirmed Pfizer’s results that showed the two-dose shot was almost 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infection in young kids

Washington: Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for younger children appears to be “highly effective” in preventing infections and has been found to not cause unexpected safety issues, federal health regulators in the United States found on Friday, giving a big boost to the US’ push to kick-start vaccinations in youngsters.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shared its analysis of Pfizer’s data a week before a public meeting to decide whether the jabs are ready for roughly 28 million children in the country who are aged between 5 and 11.

FDA scientists have concluded in their analysis that in almost all possible scenarios the vaccine’s ability to prevent hospitalisations and even death from COVID-19 would “outweigh any serious potential side effects” in kids.

However, FDA reviewers still have not approved Pfizer’s jab for emergency use authorisation for the younger age bracket. The panel of independent advisers will meet on Tuesday before making that decision.

If the FDA authorises the vaccine, the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention will push with additional recommendations as to who is eligible in the first week of November. Vaccinations for children could begin early next month.

The authorised double-dose Pfizer shots are already recommended for persons above 12 years of age, but paediatricians and parents are in an anxious wait for the younger children to get their vaccines in order to check infections from the ultra-contagious Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus.

The FDA review has reaffirmed Pfizer’s results that showed the two-dose shot was almost 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infection in young children.