Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer, said on Friday that the company expects to know more about the effectiveness of its vaccines in children under 5 by the end of the year.
Bourla said in an interview with NBC News that there was a study in children six months to two years. We will know more when we see the data next year.
The United States has a vaccine for the coronaviruses. The only group of people in the US who can't get a vaccine is kids younger than 5.
The nation's topmost COVID-19 expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has predicted that parents won't have to wait much longer for their kids to receive one.
Fauci said that it would be available to them in the first quarter of 2022, according to a report from Hilary Brueck. There is no way to know for sure without more data.
He said that the clinical trial was the only way to guarantee it.
The Omicron coronaviruses variant has been detected in the US, and Pfizer's announcement on data for children under 5 comes as a result. Scientists in at least 10 states have detected the variant. A calculation done by a former top-tier official at the California Department of Public Health shows that there could be as many as 2,000 cases of the variant in the US.
South Africa, where scientists were the first to raise alarm bells about Omicron, has seen a rise in hospital admission among children under the age of 4. The infections have so far been mild, that the health official advised against panic.
Pfizer is conducting vaccine trials. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are planning to conduct vaccine trials.
When data from the vaccine manufacturer would be available was not specified in the interview.
Bancel said you want to go slowly with children. Start with a low dose and increase it as you find the right one. It's taking a bit more time because of the importance of the safety of the children in those studies.
