COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than 12 years in US to be made available soon
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A report in The New York Times quoted two health experts saying that COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 could be available as soon as the end of October
Amid surging Delta variant cases in the US, COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than 12 years could be available by the end of next month, says a media report.
A report in The New York Times quoted two health experts saying that COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 could be available as soon as the end of October.
This brought relief to parents of younger children since vaccines are only available for children aged 12 and above.
The NYT report quoted Dr Scott Gottlieb, who is a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration who also sits on the board of Pfizer, as saying that getting the green light for younger children will require careful and expeditious review of the clinical data.
Gottlieb said on the CBS show “Face the Nation” that “in a best-case scenario,” the Pfizer vaccine could be ready by October 31 for younger children.
“I have confidence in Pfizer in terms of the data that they’ve collected,” Gottlieb said.
Dr James Versalovic, who is an interim paediatrician in chief at Texas Children’s Hospital, said he agreed with Gottlieb on the possibility of the vaccine for younger children getting approval by October.
“We’re doing everything we can now to move these trials ahead,” he was quoted as saying in the NYT report.
“We continue to be on a high plateau” and may yet hit “another peak,” he said.
The report added that both Pfizer and Moderna "are gathering data on the safety, correct dose and effectiveness of the Covid vaccines in children.”
"Compared with adults, children diagnosed with COVID are more likely to have mild symptoms or none at all. Children are also far less likely to develop severe illness, be hospitalised or die from the disease,” the NYT report said.