Pfizer and Moderna COVID 19 Vaccine Recommended for Kids Under 5

• Pfizer and Moderna COVID 19 vaccines have been recommended for children below the age of five.

• The new development is coming after an advisory panel to the U.S.  The Food and Drug Administration voted collectively for both vaccines.

• The FDA is yet to make a formal decision on the new development.

A consulting panel to the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has voted collectively on Wednesday to recommend two Covid-19 vaccines for children below the age of five.

The two vaccines from Pfizer (PFE)/BioNTech (BNTX) and Moderna (MRNA) are both mRNA vaccines leaving those unable to use the platform with no alternative. 

Both companies performed trials as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 took hold and the result shows how tough a target the virus and its latest strains are. It is expected that the FDA will possibly accept the recommendation and approve Pfizer and Moderna COVID 19 vaccines soon.

Covid is generally less severe in kids than in adults. However, hospitalizations of kids below the ages of five spiked during the omicron wave.

Expressing his concerns about the increasing rate of children being hospitalized Dr. Peter Marks, head of the FDA’s vaccine division, said:

I”We have to be careful that we don’t become numb to the number of pediatric deaths because of the overwhelming number of older deaths. Every life is important.”

Pfizer’s vaccine is administered in three dosages for children between the ages of six months and 4-years. The shots are dosed at 3 micrograms, which is one-tenth of what adults receive.

Pfizer’s three dosage vaccine was about 75% effective at preventing infections from omicron in kids between the ages of 6 months and 2 years and 82% effective against omicron in children aged between 2 and 4 years.

Speaking about Pfizer’s three-dose vaccine, Dr. Paul Offit, an FDA committee member said:

“I do worry that parents aren’t necessarily going to know that after two doses, they may not be protected at all and will engage in the kind of activity that would put their child at risk.”

On the other hand, Moderna’s vaccine is administered in two doses for children between the ages of six months and 5-years. The shots are dosed at 25 micrograms which is a quarter of what adults are expected to take.

Moderna’s vaccine was 51% effective at preventing illness from omicron in children between the ages of six months and 2-years, and about 37% effective for children aged 2 to 5-years-old. 

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