Pfizer claims COVID vaccine more than 90% effective for 5-11 years old kids

Pfizer's COVID vaccine appears safe and nearly 91 per cent efficient at avoiding symptomatic infections in 5 to 11-year-olds, according to a recent study. The findings of Pfizer's investigation were posted online. Later in the day, the FDA was due to release its independent review of the company's safety and effectiveness data. Next week, FDA advisers will debate the evidence in public. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will make the final choice on who should get the shots if the agency approves them.

The US is expanding vaccines to that age group and if authorities give the go-ahead, the shots may start as early as November, with the first children in line being fully vaccinated by the end of the year. Full-strength Pfizer shots are already authorised for anyone 12 and 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.

Biden administration orders paediatric vaccine doses 

The Biden administration has ordered enough paediatric doses in unique orange-capped vials to distinguish them from adult vaccines for the country's estimated 28 million children aged 5 to 11. If the vaccine is approved, millions of doses, as well as kid-size needles, will be sent around the country as soon as possible.

Based on 16 COVID cases in children given dummy shots vs three cases in children who were vaccinated, researchers concluded that the vaccine was roughly 91 per cent effective. There were no serious infections recorded among the children, but those who had been vaccinated showed far fewer symptoms than those, who had not been vaccinated. Furthermore, young children who received low-dose vaccines generated coronavirus-fighting antibody levels that were comparable to those seen in teens and young adults who received full-strength vaccinations.

COVID kills more than 630 Americans aged 18 and under

Pfizer vaccines were 93 per cent successful at preventing hospitalizations among 12 to 18-year-olds, the CDC said earlier this week. COVID has killed more than 630 Americans aged 18 and under, according to the CDC, despite the fact that children have a reduced risk of serious illness or death than adults. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, about 6.2 million children have been infected with the coronavirus, with more than 1.1 million afflicted in the previous six weeks as the delta variant spread.

(Inputs from AP News)

(Image: AP/ Representative)