A COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5? It could happen this month

Nurse Lydia Holly prepares a baby’s COVID-19 vaccine dose on Nov. 3, 2021, at Youngsters’s Nationwide Hospital in Washington. Pfizer has mentioned its COVID-19 vaccine for younger youngsters might be accessible in February.

Carolyn Kaster, Related Press

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for kids underneath 5 years previous might be accessible for households all over the place by the top of February.

The information:Pfizer and BioNTech are anticipated to submit their COVID-19 vaccine plan for kids underneath 5 years previous to the Meals and Drug Administration someday this week, hoping to request emergency-use authorization for the vaccine, The Washington Publish stories.

Why it issues: This might make a vaccine accessible for anybody 6 months to five years previous, who characterize the ultimate bulk of individuals within the nation who're ineligible to be vaccinated in opposition to the coronavirus.

Particulars: The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for younger youngsters could be a two-dose routine.

• If Pfizer waited for knowledge on a three-dose COVID-19 vaccine for kids, the corporate must wait till March to ship the proposal to the FDA, The New York Occasions stories.

Flashback: Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the previous commissioner of the Meals and Drug Administration who now sits on Pfizer’s board, hinted on the vaccine being prepared throughout an interview this previous weekend with CBS Information.

• “There's some indication in case you take heed to federal well being officers that they might be rethinking the vaccine ... in six months to 4 years previous,” he mentioned.
• “And I’m hopeful that you could possibly see some motion on attempting to entertain that software earlier.
• “In the end, the choice resides with FDA, however there may be some indication that there could also be an early response on that software.”

What’s subsequent: Federal regulators would assessment the info with the hope of authorizing the vaccine for younger youngsters.