After millions have received full vaccinations against COVID-19 worldwide, many hope for a return to normal life on the horizon. Families are now questioning when vaccines will be available for children. In a new turn in the fight against COVID-19, Pfizer has announced that it expects the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize its vaccine for children aged 12 to 15 next "week."
The authorization is anticipated to be issued sometime next week, according to the American public radio station "NPR." Pfizer's Chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla, confirmed to investors during a conference call on Tuesday morning that the authorization should be issued "soon." Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is only authorized for individuals aged 16 and older.
It is worth noting that the company announced in late March that it would ask the FDA to expand the emergency use authorization to allow youth to receive the vaccine, citing clinical trials that showed "excellent efficacy and strong antibody responses" among teenagers aged 12 to 15. Pfizer is conducting studies on children to determine the safety and benefits of administering its vaccine to young children.
The company plans to submit two new requests for emergency use authorization in September, with one request covering children aged 2 to 5 years, while the second request applies to children aged 5 to 11 years. The company also intends to submit a future request after completing its research concerning the group of children aged 6 months to 2 years, "which is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of this year," according to NPR.
These recent announcements come as children now account for an increasing proportion of COVID-19 cases in the United States, while over 100 million adults have been fully vaccinated, primarily with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
