Pfizer Requests US to Allow Children 5 to 11 to be Vaccinated for COVID-19

Children as young as 5 to 11 may be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine and if regulators agree, shots could begin within a matter of weeks.

The Associated Press (AP) reports that Pfizer has asked the U.S. government to allow use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children. 

Pfizer announced in a tweet that it had formally filed its application with the Food and Drug Administration.

According to the AP article, the FDA will have to decide if there’s enough evidence that the shots are safe and will work for younger children like they do for teens and adults. 

While Pfizer studied the lower dose in 2,268 volunteers ages 5 to 11, and has said there were no serious side effects, the study isn’t large enough to detect any extremely rare side effects, such as the heart inflammation that sometimes occurs after the second dose of the regular-strength vaccine, mostly in young men.

If the FDA authorizes emergency use of the kid-sized doses, there’s another hurdle before vaccinations in this age group can begin. 

Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will decide whether to recommend the shots for youngsters, and the CDC will make a final decision.

An independent expert panel will publicly debate the evidence on 26 October.