According to the Pfizer board, a vaccine could be available for children, ages five to 11, by Halloween.
On Monday, Sept. 20, Pfizer announced the success of a Phase ⅔ trial of the COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5-11. 2,268 adolescents participated in the trial, administering the two doses 21 days apart.
In a news release, Pfizer said, “The 10-milligram dose was carefully selected as the preferred dose for safety, tolerability and immunogenicity in children 5-11 years of age.”
Chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, said that since July, pediatric cases of COVID-19 have risen by about 240 percent in the U.S.
“These trial results provide a strong foundation for seeking authorization of our vaccine for children 5-11 years old,” Bourla said.
Furthermore, Bourla is urgently seeking approval from the FDA for the vaccine. The Delta variant of COVID-19 has been perceived twice as contagious as other variants and has been demonstrated in studies to hospitalize the infected. However, this may be a positive correlation with infected people from the variant.
According to a Yale Medicine article by Kathy Katella, unvaccinated persons are most at risk. The highest correlation between high case numbers and severe outcomes is in areas with low vaccination rates.
Dr. Inci Yildirim, a Yale Medicine pediatric infectious diseases specialist and vaccinologist, said as older groups get vaccinated, those younger and unvaccinated will be at a higher risk of getting COVID-19 with any variant. “But Delta,” Yildirim said, “seems to be impacting younger age groups more than previous variants.”
On a web page titled “Common Questions About Vaccines” on the CDC’S website, the risks of a COVID-19 vaccine are mild.
“The main risks associated with getting vaccines are side effects, which are almost always mild (redness and swelling at the injection site) and go away within a few days,” the page reads.
More severe side effects, such as allergic reactions, are infrequent. The clinical staff still uses their training to deal with them. The CDC said, “The disease-prevention benefits of getting vaccines are much greater than the possible side effects for almost all children.”
However, the exceptions to this statement are children who have serious chronic medical conditions (i.e., cancer), autoimmune disorders, or those who had a severe reaction to the previous dose.
The risks are there, but scientific evidence backs up some parents’ fears about getting their child the vaccine. The CDC answers many of these questions on its website.
