Pfizer Asks US to allow kids Vaccination between 12 and 15 aged
The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its partner in the development of the first Covid-19 vaccine to receive emergency authorization in the US want to allow more adolescents to receive the vaccine.
New York-based Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech SE applied to the US Food and Drug Administration to expand the emergency use authorization for their vaccine to include adolescents ages 12-15. In mid-December, the two-dose injection received emergency clearance to vaccinate people over 16 years of age.
Pfizer and BioNTech said they are working closely with the FDA and regulators in other countries to obtain an emergency or conditional authorization as soon as possible for children ages 12 to 15.
The companies said in a statement that preliminary results through March 31 from late-stage trials in that age group found the vaccine to be safe and 100 percent effective at blocking infections. They said the side effects matched those of tests done on volunteers aged 16 to 25: pain and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headaches, fever, and nausea.
All 12-15-year-old volunteer study participants will be monitored for two years, beginning after they received their second dose, to look at any safety concerns and determine how long the vaccine protects recipients.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.