Pfizer announced on Wednesday, March 31 that its Covid-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12. The Pfizer vaccines are authorised for children aged 16 and older. Vaccinating children of all ages will also help schools start offline classes again.
In a study conducted on 2,260 US volunteers aged 12 to 15, Pfizer reported preliminary data showed there were no cases of Covid-19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared to 18 among those given dummy shots.
Researchers also reported high levels of virus-fighting antibodies in kids’ immune systems, somewhat higher than were seen in studies of young adults.
Children have side effects similar to young adults like pain, fever, fatigue, particularly after the second dose.
The study will track participants for two years for more information about long-term protection and safety.
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech plan to ask the US Food and Drug Administration and European regulators to allow emergency use of the shots starting at age 12.
We share the urgency to expand the use of our vaccine, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement adding that he hopes to start vaccinating this age group before the start of the next school year in the US.
Pfizer isn’t the only company looking to create vaccines for the lower age limit including Modernas, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson.
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