Pfizer, BioNTech asks FDA to allow COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5 years of age
Zee News
For kids under 5, Pfizer's study is giving participants two shots three weeks apart, followed by a third dose at least two months later. The company is testing whether the youngsters produce antibody levels similar to those known to protect teens and young adults.
Washington: Pfizer on Wednesday asked the US to authorize extra-low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5, potentially opening the way for the very youngest Americans to start receiving shots as early as March. In an extraordinary move, the Food and Drug Administration had urged Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to apply earlier than the companies had planned.
The nation's 19 million children under 5 are the only group not yet eligible for a vaccination against the coronavirus. Many parents have been pushing for an expansion of shots to toddlers and preschoolers, especially as the omicron wave sent record numbers of youngsters to the hospital.
"I would say the parents in my office are desperate" to get their youngest kids vaccinated, said Dr Dyan Hes, who runs a paediatrics practice in New York City where vaccination rates are high. For many, "that's the first thing they ask when they walk through the door: When do you think the shot is going to come out?"