CDC advisors recommend Pfizer's COVID vaccination for children ages 5-11
Click to enlarge this image. Caption Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket Via Getty Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket Via Getty
Pfizer BioNTech may soon offer a low-dose COVID-19 vaccination to children aged 5-11 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Tuesday that the shots be given to approximately 28 million children in this age range.
Children could start getting shots as soon as Dr. Rochelle Walensky approves the recommendations.
The adult dose of the vaccine is one-third, with two doses every three weeks. Pifzer states that the lower dose was chosen in order to minimize side effects while still generating strong immunity.
Walensky, who was speaking before the vote of the advisory committee, called Tuesday's meeting "a monumental day", and urged the panel members to take into account the devastating effects COVID-19 has on children. According to the CDC, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 172 children aged 5-11 years old and hospitalized more than 8,300.
Walensky, who was addressing the panel, stated that "we also know that COVID has a clinical impact on children and that there are adverse social and mental health effects that we are only beginning to understand." It is our responsibility to ensure that as many people are vaccinated as possible and are protected against COVID-19.
She made it clear that she supported a wide recommendation to vaccinate children aged 5-11 years. Her decision is expected soon.
Jeffrey Zients, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, stated Monday that enough low-dose vaccines have been purchased by the government to cover everyone in the age group. Zients stated that the company started filling and labeling vials and began shipping 15 million doses after the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine.
Zients stated that the federal program for the distribution of the vaccine will be "fully operational" by Monday, Nov. 8. Some doses may be available by the week's end.
Zients stated that the vaccine will be shipped to family doctors' and pediatricians' offices as well as community health centers, pharmacies and tribal health centers. In some areas, vaccine administration sites at schools will also be included.
Some school districts have already planned vaccinations for the Thanksgiving holiday. Some clinics also state that they are ready to start the shots Wednesday.
Zients stated that parents do not require a doctor's approval to receive a vaccine. However, parents who have questions about the vaccine should consult a trusted healthcare provider.
Panel members discussed and reviewed the science behind Friday's FDA approval of the vaccine for all children aged 5-11 years during the Tuesday meeting of CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The authorization was based largely on a Pfizer/BioNTech study that included 4,600 children around the world. About 3,100 received the low-dose vaccine, while approximately 1,500 received a placebo.
These studies revealed that the vaccine was 91% effective against COVID-19. As measured by antibodies, the immune system response to vaccine was similar to that seen in 16- and 25-year-olds.
The advisors spent a lot of time considering the public health benefits of a vaccine for children against a disease that isn't as severe or fatal in children as it is in adults. The prevalence of COVID-19 in the U.S., as well as the high number of deaths and severe cases, led to the recommendation for universal vaccination of the vaccine among the 5-11 year old age group.
According to the most recent CDC data, 38% of children aged 5-11 have antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19. This indicates that they have been infected. Jefferson Jones, a CDC medical officer, stated that young children are just as likely as adults to become infected. Infected children aged 5 to 11 years old have been reported in excess of 1.9 million.
There were more than 8,300 children aged 5-11 hospitalized for COVID-19, or a related illness, MIS-C. This severe condition can affect multiple organs and could lead to death. Children aged 5-11 had the most cases of MIS–C.
Jones reports that hospitalization rates for COVID-19 have been comparable to those for influenza in the past. Children with COVID-19 were more severe than those who had influenza and required hospitalization.
Jones stated that the hospitalization rates for COVID-19 are three-fold higher for nonHispanic Black, nonHispanic American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic children than for non-Hispanic White children.
Myocarditis, which is a type of inflammation in the heart, is a rare side effect that generated a lot of discussion at Tuesday's meeting. It can also occur as a result of viral infections such as COVID-19. Most commonly seen in young boys and men, it is. It usually clears up in a matter of weeks or months.
The CDC confirmed 877 cases in 30 and younger of myocarditis following the Pfizer or Moderna vaccination. However, there have been no deaths. Dr. Matthew Oster, a pediatric cardiologist at Children's Hospital Atlanta, has said that although the CDC studies myocarditis for them, he has not seen any deaths. He said that COVID-19 can lead to myocarditis or other heart-related problems, such as MIS-C, which is often fatal.
Oster stated that getting COVID is, in my opinion, much more dangerous to the heart than getting this vaccine.
Safety was a concern for some of the commentators and those who testified in public comments.
Dr. Doran Fink (clinical deputy director, division of vaccines, and related products, FDA) responded by saying that the safety data size for this age group is "at the upper end or beyond the safety database that has supported licensure for other preventive vaccines against infectious diseases."
According to CDC models vaccines for 5- to 11-year olds could prevent 600,000. COVID-19 cases by March next year. Dr. Sara Oliver from the CDC said that vaccinations beginning this month could help to prevent 600,000. She stated that vaccination of 511-year olds "would dampen but not eliminate" the possibility of a new variant.
Recognizing that some parents may be reluctant to get their children vaccinated immediately, Dr. Matthew Daley from the advisory group said, "We hear you loudly and clear."
He said, "Ofcourse you want the best for your child." "I urge you to speak to your pediatrician or family physician, so they can walk this through with you."
Jane Greenhalgh contributed this report.
