ORLANDO, Fla. — Pfizer announced Monday its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and highly effective in young children between the ages of five and 11 years old.
They plan to apply for authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of the month, and if the process goes well, distribution of the vaccine to elementary school students could begin before Halloween.
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Physicians in Florida welcome the news as they say children under the age of 12 are making up a bulk of new COVID-19 cases in the state.
“Right now it’s the under 12 age group. That’s the real problem,” data statistician Dr. Eric Solomon said.
Today with @BioNTech_Group, we are proud to announce positive topline results from the pivotal trial of our #COVID19 vaccine in children 5-11 years of age. https://t.co/a1mSEgxNHQ pic.twitter.com/9xGfYEzFuy
— Pfizer Inc. (@pfizer) September 20, 2021
Dr. Solomon says he hopes there’s less resistance to the vaccine once it’s opened up to a new age group. He expects it to mirror the vaccine rollout for other age groups.
“We generally get a surge of vaccinations early on,” Dr. Solomon said. “Hopefully that’ll be the case here.”
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However, after the initial rush, demand for the vaccines dipped. Dr. Solomon says he hopes that particular trend won’t repeat itself.
“It’s critically important that we protect these kids,” Dr. Solomon said.
Results from our Phase 2/3 in children 5-11yrs of age showed a favorable safety profile & robust neutralizing antibody responses, using a 2 dose regimen of 10 µg. We plan to share the data with the @US_FDA, @EMA_News & other regulators. https://t.co/k2IgjPhxUS pic.twitter.com/lnIEhgol5I
— BioNTech SE (@BioNTech_Group) September 20, 2021
Dr. Kenneth Alexander, Chief of the infectious diseases division at Nemours Children’s Hospital, says he thinks the rollout of vaccines for kids aged five to 11 will be slow.
“I think parents are always concerned. That being said, we have to remind people we know it works.”
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Dr. Alexander says he has conversations with families daily about getting the vaccine after their child has recovered from COVID and the responses are “all over the map.”
“Most parents, when their kid gets COVID, when they get COVID, sort of have a moment of inspiration and realize that this vaccine is a good idea,” Dr. Alexander said. “That being said, there are some people who are so firmly entrenched that even the death of a family member doesn’t seem to change their mind.
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Cox Media Group
