Pfizer and BioNTech Submit Covid Vaccine Data for Kids 5-11

Politics|Pfizer and BioNTech taxable information they accidental shows shots are harmless successful 5- to 11-year-olds.

Pfizer and BioNTech announced connected Tuesday that they had submitted information to the Food and Drug Administration showing that their coronavirus vaccine is harmless and effectual successful children ages 5 to 11.

The companies said that they would taxable a ceremonial petition to regulators to let a pediatric dose of their vaccine to beryllium administered successful the United States successful the coming weeks. Similar requests volition beryllium filed with European regulators and successful different countries.

Pfizer and BioNTech announced favorable results from their objective proceedings with much than 2,200 participants successful that property radical conscionable implicit a week ago. The F.D.A. has said that it volition analyse the information arsenic soon arsenic possible.

The companies said past week that their vaccine had been shown to beryllium harmless and effectual successful debased doses successful children ages 5 to 11, offering anticipation to parents successful the United States who are disquieted that a instrumentality to in-person schooling has enactment youngsters astatine hazard of infection.

About 28 million children ages 5 to 11 would beryllium eligible for the vaccine successful the United States, acold much than the 17 cardinal of ages 12 to 15 who became eligible for the vaccine successful May.

But it is not wide however galore successful the younger cohort volition beryllium vaccinated. Inoculations among older children person lagged: Only astir 42 percent of children ages 12 to 15 person been afloat vaccinated successful the United States, compared with 66 percent of adults, according to national data.

Although galore stay anxious to inoculate their children, sentiment polls suggest that immoderate parents person reservations. A survey published past period by the Kaiser Family Foundation recovered that 26 percent of parents of children ages 5 to 11 would vaccinate their children “right away” erstwhile doses were authorized for their property group, 40 percent said they would “wait and see” however the vaccine worked earlier doing truthful and 25 percent said they would not person their kid vaccinated astatine all.

Studies person shown that unvaccinated children who declaration the coronavirus thin not to get earnestly ill, starring immoderate parents to wonderment whether the imaginable risks of a caller vaccine outweigh the benefits.

And immoderate parents who are themselves vaccinated have expressed concerns astir the comparatively tiny size of children’s trials and astir a deficiency of information connected the semipermanent information of the shots.