UAE APPROVES PFIZER-BIONTECH SHOT FOR CHILDREN AGED 5 TO 11
▶ Clinical studies show the vaccine produces a strong immune response in young people
The UAE has approved the emergency use of the PfizerBioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children aged between 5 and 11.
The authorities said clinical studies showed the vaccine provided a strong and safe immune response.
Dr Hussain Al Rand, assistant undersecretary for public health at the Ministry of Health and Prevention, said the national inoculation campaign had helped the country to move towards a return to normality.
The Sinopharm shot was already approved for children aged 3 to 11.
Children aged between 12 and 17 have already received either the Sinopharm or Pfizer vaccines after the health authorities approved the shots for teenagers this year.
Data released by Pfizer has shown its vaccine is 90.7 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 in children aged between 5 and 11. Initial data on the effects of the vaccine on children aged between six months and 2 years, and in the 2-4 age group, is expected this year.
The ministry has also announced that booster doses would be given to people with chronic diseases who been vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Sputnik shots.
Last week, a committee advising the US Food and Drug Administration voted 17-0 with one abstention to recommend that regulators approve the vaccine for the age group.
The committee said the benefits of the shot outweighed the risk of it causing heart-related side effects.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been linked to cases of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, particularly among young men.
But even if myocarditis cases are reported among youths vaccinated with the PfizerBioNTech shot, FDA reviewers said giving it to younger children would still prevent more people from being admitted to hospital with Covid-19.
“To me, it seems that it is a hard decision, but a clear one,” said Patrick Moore, a microbiologist at the University of Pittsburgh and member of the FDA advisory committee.
At least 94 children aged between 5 and 11 have died from the disease in the US since the pandemic began, he said.
“All have names. All of them had mothers,” Mr Moore said.
Amanda Cohn, a vaccine expert at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said the vaccine would help to save lives.
It will also curb the number of people admitted to intensive care units and protect children from the long-term effects of Covid-19, she said.
The vast majority of children who develop the disease experience mild symptoms, if any. But children who catch the infection can spread it to others.
The health authorities in England are currently reporting high infection rates among children – data showed that 302 children up to the age of 17 were taken to hospital in the week up to October 23.
Among them, 173 were between the ages of 6 and 17, and 129 were 5 and younger.
Overall, 101 children have died from Covid-19 in the UK since the pandemic began.
Data shared with the FDA last week showed the number of children in the US who had been admitted to hospital with Covid-19 was on par with some recent flu seasons.
But the findings showed children are more likely to require treatment in intensive care
Pfizer says its vaccine is 90.7 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 in children aged between 5 and 11
units and mechanical intervention if they are admitted to hospital with Covid-19, compared with flu.
A study published in the Paediatrics journal found that children who contracted Covid-19 suffered from more symptoms and complications than those with flu.
Those with underlying health conditions such as asthma and obesity were at greater risk from Covid-19, the study found.
The research showed pneumonia and hypoxia, a condition that develops when not enough oxygen makes it to the cells and tissues in the body, occurred more frequently in Covid-19 patients than those who contracted seasonal flu.
Children can also suffer from “long Covid”, a condition in which symptoms persist for weeks or even months after the initial infection.
Studies show it affects as many as one in seven young people who become infected with the coronavirus.