Pfizer says shots 91% effective in kids 5-11

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

The shots could begin in early November, with the first children fully protected by Christmas, if regulators give the go-ahead. That would represent a major expansion of the nation’s vaccine drive, encompassing 28 million elementary school-age youngsters.

Details of Pfizer’s study were posted online.

Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will publicly debate the evidence next week. If the agency authorizes the shots, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make the final decision on who should get them.

Full-strength Pfizer shots already are authorized for anyone 12 or older, but pediatricians and many parents are eagerly awaiting protection for younger children to stem rising infections and record hospitalizations among them from the extra-contagious delta variant and to help keep kids in school.

Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, a University of Florida professor of pediatrics and epidemiology, called Pfizer’s data “really reassuring” and predicted the FDA and CDC will sign off on the shots.

She said it was encouraging to see the vaccine was effective with a one-third dose. That reduces the chance of sore arms, fever and other mild effects, Rasmussen said.

“I don’t see any red flags here that would have people concerned,” said Rasmussen, who wasn’t involved in the research. The results are good news for “so many families out there that are waiting to have the vaccine before the holidays.”

The Biden administration has purchased enough kid-size doses for the nation’s 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.

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

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.