Fda Says Pfizer Vaccine For Covid 19 Seems Effective For Children Under 5

The Food and Drug Administration said Sunday that the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 appears to be safe for children under 5, the only age group not yet eligible for vaccination in the United States. The agency released its review ahead of a meeting Wednesday in which outside experts will vote on whether the vaccine is ready for the country’s youngest population. FILE PHOTO: Vials with the word “COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine” and a syringe appear in front of the Pfizer logo in this image taken on February 9, 2021. (REUTERS / Dado Ruvic / Reuters) The FDA published a similar analysis last week of the Moderna vaccine for children under 6 years of age. Vaccinations could begin next week if regulators clear the shots from one or both drug companies. ANTIBODY VACCINE CANDIDATE INCREASES ANTIBODY REACTION AGAINST OMICRON: MODERNA The FDA is headquartered in Washington DC. (iStock / iStock) According to an FDA review, COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths for children aged 6 months to 4 years are higher than for children of other age groups, although infants, toddlers and preschoolers are only about 3% of cases in the US The agency said children who received the Pfizer vaccine during clinical trials developed high levels of anti-virus antibodies that are expected to provide protection against COVID-19, the key requirement for FDA approval. The Pfizer vaccine was given in three doses and was shown to be 80% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19. However, these data were based on only 10 cases diagnosed among study participants and could change as the Pfizer study continues. Meanwhile, the Moderna two-dose vaccine was only about 40% to 50% effective in preventing milder infections. NOVAVAX VACCINE FOR COVID-19 RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL BY THE FDA ADVISORY COMMITTEE The Pfizer logo appears on the facade of an office building in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. (Cezary Kowalski / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images) The vaccines of the two companies were tested at different points during the pandemic, with different variants circulating at the time of each study. Moderna has started testing a booster vaccine for infants. The FDA will ask an independent panel of vaccine experts on Wednesday to discuss the data from both companies before the vote, although the agency is not required to make a decision based on the group’s recommendations. The official decision is expected to be made shortly after Wednesday’s meeting. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will then host their own team of experts to discuss which infants need COVID-19 vaccines. For younger children, each pharmaceutical company offers different dosage sizes and number of surgeries. Pfizer vaccines will be available for children from 6 months to 4 years old and Moderna vaccines are available for up to 5 years. PFIZER ASKS FDA TO APPROVE VACCINE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OLD LOS ANGELES, California – April 15: Liesl Eibschutz, a medical student at Dartmouth University, loads a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine before giving it to humans. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images) Pfizer and its BioNTech partner are expected to offer two doses three weeks apart and a third at least two months later. Each vaccine will be one tenth of the dose given to adults. Pfizer is the only company to currently have the COVID-19 vaccine designed for older children in the US The Moderna vaccine will include two vaccines given about four weeks apart, each one quarter of the company’s adult dose. More than 30,000 children under the age of 5 in the United States have been hospitalized with the virus and nearly 500 deaths from COVID-19 have been reported in the same demographic age, according to U.S. health officials. READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS BY CLICKING HERE The federal government allowed pharmacies and states to start ordering vaccines for young children last week. There are initially 5 million installments, with each company producing half the downloads. Despite the possible FDA approval for vaccines, demand for vaccines is expected to be quite low. A recent survey shows that only 1 in 5 parents of young children would get their children to get the vaccine right away. The vaccines have been available to older children in the United States since November, but less than a third of children ages 5 to 11 have received the two recommended doses, according to government figures. The Associated Press contributed to this report.