The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends children ages 5-11 be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine.
This announcement follows a Food and Drug Administration panel granted emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11 after finding a 90.7% efficacy rate, according to a Pfizer press release.
What is the vaccine like for younger kids?
Pfizer’s randomized, controlled trial included 4,500 children between the ages 5-11 who received two vaccine shots spread between 21 days. The study ran from July through August before Pfizer-BioNTech requested Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) on Oct. 6.
The results are strong: the trial, which gave doses that are two-thirds less than the adult dose, “showed a favorable safety profile, robust immune responses and a vaccine efficacy rate of 90.7%,” the press release says. Pfizer found the lower dose to be effective while attempting to subside side effects.
The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee unanimously voted 17-0 with one abstention, according to the press release.
In Chicago alone, there have been 39,520 cases, 643 hospitalizations and six deaths from COVID-19 among the city’s adolescent population, according to city data.
As booster shots and mask mandates struggle to combat the higher transmission rate brought by the Delta variant, the COVID-19 vaccine is possibly days away from being available for elementary- and middle school-aged children.
Children with more than one underlying condition, such as obesity, chronic lung disease and neurological disorders, accounted for more than two-thirds of COVID-19 hospitalizations. In the United States, nearly 4 million 5- to 11-years-olds have contracted the virus as of Oct. 15, the FDA says.
The CDC has reported more than 700 COVID-19 deaths in the United States younger than 18. Of that number, 146 deaths were among ages 5-11, according to the FDA.
If approved for EUA, Pfizer doses for 5- to 11-year-olds — packaged in smaller needles — will be distributed to pediatricians’ offices, pharmacies, hospitals and “school- and community-based sites,” according to a Biden Administration plan.
When can my child get the vaccine in Chicagoland?
In Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker has outlined a plan to rollout the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11, according to a press release. More than 2,000 locations and providers statewide are enrolled to receive the vaccine.
There will be 500,000 doses available for the younger age group. The state’s goal is to get 1.1 million children in Illinois vaccinated against COVID-19.
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