While
kids are
at lower
risk of
severe
illness
or death
than
older
people,
more
than 5
million
children
in the
U.S.
have
tested
positive
for
COVID-19
since
the
pandemic
began
and at
least
460 have
died,
according
to the
American
Academy
of
Pediatrics.
Cases in
children
have
risen
dramatically
as the
delta
variant
swept
through
the
country. |
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Pfizer
says
COVID-19
vaccine
works in
kids
ages 5
to 11
By
LAURAN
NEERGAARD
apnews.com
Pfizer
said
Monday
its
COVID-19
vaccine
works
for
children
ages 5
to 11
and that
it will
seek
U.S.
authorization
for this
age
group
soon --
a key
step
toward
beginning
vaccinations
for
youngsters.
The
vaccine
made by
Pfizer
and its
German
partner
BioNTech
already
is
available
for
anyone
12 and
older.
But with
kids now
back in
school
and the
extra-contagious
delta
variant
causing
a huge
jump in
pediatric
infections,
many
parents
are
anxiously
awaiting
vaccinations
for
their
younger
children.
For
elementary
school-aged
kids,
Pfizer
tested a
much
lower
dose --
a third
of the
amount
that’s
in each
shot
given
now. Yet
after
their
second
dose,
children
ages 5
to 11
developed
coronavirus-fighting
antibody
levels
just as
strong
as
teenagers
and
young
adults,
Dr. Bill
Gruber,
a Pfizer
senior
vice
president,
told The
Associated
Press.
The
kid
dosage
also
proved
safe,
with
similar
or fewer
temporary
side
effects
-- such
as sore
arms,
fever or
achiness
-- that
teens
experience,
he said.
“I
think we
really
hit the
sweet
spot,”
said
Gruber,
who’s
also a
pediatrician.
Gruber
said the
companies
aim to
apply to
the Food
and Drug
Administration
by the
end of
the
month
for
emergency
use in
this age
group,
followed
shortly
afterward
with
applications
to
European
and
British
regulators.
Earlier
this
month,
FDA
chief
Dr.
Peter
Marks
told the
AP that
once
Pfizer
turns
over its
study
results,
his
agency
would
evaluate
the data
“hopefully
in a
matter
of
weeks”
to
decide
if the
shots
are safe
and
effective
enough
for
younger
kids.
Many
Western
countries
so far
have
vaccinated
no
younger
than age
12,
awaiting
evidence
of
what’s
the
right
dose and
that it
works
safely
in
smaller
tots.
But Cuba
last
week
began
immunizing
children
as young
as 2
with its
homegrown
vaccines
and
Chinese
regulators
have
cleared
two of
its
brands
down to
age 3.
While
kids are
at lower
risk of
severe
illness
or death
than
older
people,
more
than 5
million
children
in the
U.S.
have
tested
positive
for
COVID-19
since
the
pandemic
began
and at
least
460 have
died,
according
to the
American
Academy
of
Pediatrics.
Cases in
children
have
risen
dramatically
as the
delta
variant
swept
through
the
country.
“I
feel a
great
sense of
urgency”
in
making
the
vaccine
available
to
children
under
12,
Gruber
said.
“There’s
pent-up
demand
for
parents
to be
able to
have
their
children
returned
to a
normal
life.”
In
New
Jersey,
10-year-old
Maya
Huber
asked
why she
couldn’t
get
vaccinated
like her
parents
and both
teen
brothers
have.
Her
mother,
Dr.
Nisha
Gandhi,
a
critical
care
physician
at
Englewood
Hospital,
enrolled
Maya in
the
Pfizer
study at
Rutgers
University.
But the
family
hasn’t
eased up
on their
masking
and
other
virus
precautions
until
they
learn if
Maya
received
the real
vaccine
or a
dummy
shot.
Once
she
knows
she’s
protected,
Maya’s
first
goal: “a
huge
sleepover
with all
my
friends.”
Maya
said it
was
exciting
to be
part of
the
study
even
though
she was
“super
scared”
about
getting
jabbed.
But
“after
you get
it, at
least
you feel
like
happy
that you
did it
and
relieved
that it
didn’t
hurt,”
she told
the AP.
Pfizer
said it
studied
the
lower
dose in
2,268
kindergartners
and
elementary
school-aged
kids.
The FDA
required
what is
called
an
immune
“bridging”
study:
evidence
that the
younger
children
developed
antibody
levels
already
proven
to be
protective
in teens
and
adults.
That’s
what
Pfizer
reported
Monday
in a
press
release,
not a
scientific
publication.
The
study
still is
ongoing,
and
there
haven’t
yet been
enough
COVID-19
cases to
compare
rates
between
the
vaccinated
and
those
given a
placebo
—
something
that
might
offer
additional
evidence.
The
study
isn’t
large
enough
to
detect
any
extremely
rare
side
effects,
such as
the
heart
inflammation
that
sometimes
occurs
after
the
second
dose,
mostly
in young
men. The
FDA’s
Marks
said the
pediatric
studies
should
be large
enough
to rule
out any
higher
risk to
young
children.
Pfizer’s
Gruber
said
once the
vaccine
is
authorized
for
younger
children,
they’ll
be
carefully
monitored
for rare
risks
just
like
everyone
else.
A
second
U.S.
vaccine
maker,
Moderna,
also is
studying
its
shots in
elementary
school-aged
children.
Pfizer
and
Moderna
are
studying
even
younger
tots as
well,
down to
6-month-olds.
Results
are
expected
later in
the
year.
___
AP
journalist
Emma
Tobin
contributed
to this
report.
___
The
Associated
Press
Health
and
Science
Department
receives
support
from the
Howard
Hughes
Medical
Institute’s
Department
of
Science
Education.
The AP
is
solely
responsible
for all
content.
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