By Our Special Correspondent
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientific advisory committee voted Thursday to recommend a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5 to 11, giving millions of kids the opportunity for increased protection against COVID-19.
The decision also means immunocompromised children who have already received a third dose are eligible to receive a fourth shot.
Two days ago, the Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 booster shot for this age group. The news comes as it becomes increasingly clear that vaccine protection against infection wanes over time.
Side effects predicted were similar in the vaccine and placebo groups. The Vaccine efficacy as estimated was 80.3% according to a preliminary estimate though this was based on very low numbers and may change significantly by the time of the final estimate.
The booster dose will be available to children five months after completing their primary series of two shots, so children who received their second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine before Dec. 19 are now eligible for a booster.
Many of the committee's questions to CDC staff were about myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart that is a rare but known potential side effect of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.
We are pleased that our formulation for the youngest children, which we carefully selected to be one tenth of the dose strength for adults, was well tolerated and produced a strong immune response, said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla in a statement.
Out of 18.1 million children ages 5 through 11 who have gotten the Pfizer vaccine, there have been 20 confirmed cases of myocarditis and one death, said Dr. Tom Shimabukuro with CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine coordination unit.
The companies submitted for an emergency use and authorization from the FDA last month after a study found healthy children in that age group had a safe and strong immune response to the booster.
The FDA has tentatively scheduled three dates in June where experts will meet and likely decide whether to authorize the Pfizer Covid vaccine for fewer than fives.
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