
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use in children aged 12 years and above.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1.5 million cases of COVID-19 have occurred in young children since March 2020. Although infections in children and adolescents are generally mild, some can develop severe infection requiring hospitalization. Moreover, cases of a rare inflammatory syndrome have also been reported in children across Europe and the US. Therefore, doctors and researchers are pushing for vaccinating the younger age groups. Recently, Canada became the first country to approve the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12 to 15 years. Following in their footsteps, the FDA has now also given its approval for the Pfizer vaccine in children aged 12 years and up.
Having a vaccine authorized for a younger population is a critical step in continuing to lessen the immense public health burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
Other than protecting children from severe infections, vaccines are also important in achieving herd immunity. Experts believe that vaccination of 70-80% of the population can stop the virus from spreading. Therefore, further stressing the importance of vaccinating younger age groups.
More Vaccine Trials Underway
According to a statement by the FDA, they based their decision on the safety data from Pfizer’s clinical trial. The study, with over 2,000 participants, released its results in early April and reported a vaccine efficacy of 100%. Moreover, researchers noted similar side effects in adolescents to that seen in young adults aged 16-25 years old. The immune response in both populations was also at par with each other. Thus, revealing the Pfizer vaccine as an effective candidate in children aged 12 to 15 years.
What we can promise to our parents is that we have done very thorough examination, more thorough than in any other vaccine, exactly because of the visibility that this vaccination is having
Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO, in an interview with ABC News
Since children are mostly infected asymptomatically, they can infect their high-risk grandparents. Therefore, Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla believes that FDA’s authorization is good not only for the safety of children but also the elderly.
Currently, Pfizer and Moderna are conducting vaccine trials for children aged 6 months-11 years.
Reference:
FDA News Release – May 10, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-emergency-use