US: COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11 could come in early November, says Dr. Fauci

COVID-19 vaccinations for children d between 5 and 11 in United States are likely to be available in first two weeks of vember, Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on 24 October, Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “If all goes well,” said Fauci in his brocast mess, “and if we [US] get regulatory approval and recommendation from CDC, it’s entirely possible if t very likely that vaccines will be available for children from 5 to 11 years of  within first week or two of vember.” 

US Food and Drug ministration [FDA’s] Vaccines and Related Biological Products visory Committee is set to meet on Tuesday tomorrow, 26 October to weigh Pfizer’s vaccine efficacy for children to be ministered in US, and wher or t to recommend FDA authorisation for kids.

“You never want to get ahe of FDA in ir regulatory decisions, r CDC and ir visers on what recommendation would be, but if you look at data that’s been me public, data look good,” Fauci said in televised remarks. 

Pfizer shows 91% efficacy in kids d 5 to 12

FDA released a study earlier last week stating that based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, approximately 1.8 million kids d five to 12 were confirmed to have contracted vel coronavirus. At least 143 COVID-19-related deaths among kids were registered in US through 14 October 2021, FDA’s Pfizer report said, ding that in this same group, re have been 8622 COVID-19 related hospitalizations through 18 September 2021. “ pediatric burden of COVID-19 likely exceeds that of seasonal influenza. Children can also suffer from post-acute sequelae after COVID-19,” said FDA.  

US FDA listed study that suggests that Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2 has proved to be 91% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections among children. efficacy was confirmed in clinical trials where at least 2,268 children d 12 and up were ministered with one-third dos of vaccines in a two-dose regime three weeks apart.

Meanwhile, US CDC’s vaccine visory panel will convene in first week of vember to authorise Pfizer mRNA jab for kids d 5 to 11. This comes as just last week, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved booster shots for recipients of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson recipients for increased protection against COVID-19 disease. CDC is also reportedly monitoring highly contagious delta variant substrain of coronavirus ‘delta plus’ which currently accounts for just 0.1% of cases in US, as per CDC data.