Pfizer vaccine 90% effective in protecting kids aged 5-11

25,000 PAEDIATRICIANS, PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS HAVE SIGNED UP TO INOCULATE CHILDREN

Kid-size doses of Pfizer’s vaccine appear safe and

90.7 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic

Covid-19 infections in 5- to 11-year-olds, according to a study released yesterday as the US considers opening vaccinations to the age group. The Pfizer study tracked 2,268 children in the

5 to 11 group who got two shots three weeks apart of either a placebo or the low-dose vaccine. Each dose was one-third the amount given to teens and adults. Researchers calculated the low-dose vaccine was nearly

91 per cent effective, based on 16 cases in youngsters given dummy shots versus three cases among vaccinated children. There were no severe illnesses reported. The US health regulator reported this week that Pfizer shots were 93 per cent effective at preventing hospitalisations among 12- to 18-year-olds

Kid-size doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine appear safe and nearly 91 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic infections in 5- to 11-year-olds, according to study details released yesterday as the US considers opening vaccinations to that age group.

The shots could begin in early November — with the first children in line fully protected by Christmas — if regulators give the go-ahead.

Details of Pfizer’s study were posted online. The Food and Drug Administration was expected to post its independent review of the company’s safety and effectiveness data later in the day. Advisers to the FDA will publicly debate the evidence next week. If the agency ultimately authorises the shots, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make the final decision on who should receive them.

Special vials

Full-strength Pfizer shots already are authorised for anyone 12 or older, but paediatricians and many parents are anxiously awaiting protection for younger children to stem rising infections from the extra-contagious Delta variant and help keep kids in school.

More than 25,000 paediatricians and primary care providers already have signed up to get the shots into little arms.

The Biden administration has purchased enough kidsize doses — in special orangecapped vials to distinguish them from adult vaccine — for the nation’s roughly 28 million 5- to 11-year-olds. If the vaccine is cleared, millions of doses will be promptly shipped around the country, along with kid-size needles.

Positive results

A Pfizer study tracked 2,268 kids in that age group who got two shots three weeks apart of either a placebo or the lowdose vaccine. Each dose was one-third the amount given to teens and adults.

Researchers calculated the low-dose vaccine was nearly 91 per cent effective, based on 16 Covid-19 cases in youngsters given dummy shots versus three cases among vaccinated children. There were no severe illnesses reported among any of the youngsters, but the vaccinated ones had much milder symptoms than their unvaccinated counterparts.

In addition, young children given the low-dose shots developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teens and young adults who got regular-strength vaccinations.

That’s important information considering that hospitalisation of mostly unvaccinated children reached record levels last month.

AP Students wear face masks during the lecture ‘BWL 1’ at Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet in Germany. For the first time since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, lectures in the winter semester 21/22 have started in presence under 3G conditions.