OHIO — Children ages five to 11 may soon be eligible to get the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
The company announced Thursday it has requested emergency use authorization from the FDA for younger children to get their vaccine.
What You Need To Know
- Pfizer requests government approval for the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11
- Vaccine dosage for younger children will be lower
- Around 5.9 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began
President-Elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics Ohio Dr. Chris Peltier anticipates the request will be granted around Halloween and believes pediatrician offices will be ready for the rollout.
“We have been giving the COVID-19 vaccine for a while,” said Peltier. “The emergency use authorization for Pfizer 12 and up has been out for couple of months now, so many pediatric practices have been giving it in their offices.”
Peltier said his practice at the Pediatric Associates of Mount Carmel Cincinnati offers the COVID-19 vaccine during office visits.
“We ask the child and the family do you want to be vaccinated for COVID?”
He said there’s another way children can get vaccinated at their pediatrician's office.
“Throughout the day, we have a schedule just for COVID vaccines, kind of similar to what we do for flu vaccines,” said Peltier.
Megan Adams and her husband, Kyle, have two children under 10.
Last year, they opted for e-learning for their seven-year-old, but this year she’s back in the classroom.
“I'm happy we made the decision to let her into school this year, but that doesn’t come without the anxiety that she’ll get COVID,” said Adams.
She said she's relieved Pfizer/BioNTech has requested emergency use authorization from the FDA for kids ages five to 11 to get their COVID-19 vaccine.
“I have been kind of on pins and needles waiting for this vaccine to come out so I can protect my children,” said Adams.
When it comes to the safety of the vaccine, Peltier said the mRNA science behind it has been around for two decades. He also said the dosage for younger children will be lower.
“The dosage we're using for kids five to 11, it’s one-third the amount of vaccine,” said Peltier. “So, No. 1, it’s a smaller dose and in kids we know it’s worked, was safe and is effective.”
As of Sept. 30, around 5.9 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.