Pfizer and BioNtech to ask FDA to authorize COVID-19 booster for kids as young as five

Pfizer and BioNTech plan to ask the Food and Drug Administration to clear a third dose of their COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as five, the companies announced Wednesday, citing trial results showing a "robust response" of antibodies in this age group after the booster shot. 

In the trial, 140 children ages 5 to 11 years old were given a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine six months after receiving their second shot. Blood drawn from the children showed a six-fold increase in antibodies compared to the amount seen one month after the second dose, indicating "a strong immune response in this age group," the companies said.

A subset of antibodies from the children in the trial were also tested against the Omicron variant. Those 30 samples had a strong enough antibody response to neutralize the variant, with a "robust response" regardless of whether the children had previously survived a case of COVID-19, the companies said.