As parents look forward to vaccinating their young children against Covid-19, the wait is becoming more bearable. Pfizer anticipates that it will have sufficient data to request emergency use authorization for its vaccine aimed at children aged 5 to 11 by the end of September. This news is a relief for parents concerned about navigating a new school year amid the ongoing surge of the delta variant.
Once the application is submitted to the FDA, approval could come within weeks. For reference, Pfizer’s vaccine for adults received emergency use authorization in three weeks. If granted, approximately 50 million children in the U.S. would become eligible for vaccination, according to reports. Additionally, vaccines for children under 5 are expected to follow shortly thereafter.
Moderna is also making progress and plans to apply for emergency use authorization for children aged 6 and older by the end of this year, with options for younger kids anticipated in early 2022. While adult vaccines have been available since December, both companies have conducted extensive trials for children, testing different dosages for various age groups. Dr. Lisa Kline, a senior vice president at Moderna, noted that initial results have shown comparable outcomes to adults, with no safety issues reported.
With the highly contagious Delta variant driving a rise in coronavirus cases, it’s crucial to vaccinate kids as they account for a significant portion of recent infections. Between August 5 and August 12, over 120,000 cases were reported among children, nearly 20 percent of all cases in the U.S. Dr. Samira Patel, a pediatric infectious disease expert, explained that this increase is largely due to rising infection rates among unvaccinated adults in their households. Until children can be vaccinated, they depend on the adults around them to protect them.
Currently, about 70 percent of American adults have received at least one vaccine dose, while only around 30 percent of those eligible among children have been vaccinated. As classrooms reopen, many unmasked, it’s likely that infection rates among children will continue to climb. Vaccinating people of all ages is essential to reversing this trend.
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Summary
Pfizer is set to apply for emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 by the end of September, with the hope of providing relief to parents as schools reopen. Moderna is also progressing with its vaccine for children aged 6 and up. With rising Covid-19 cases among children, the urgency for vaccination is heightened.
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