More encouraging news is emerging about Covid-19 vaccines for young children. In a statement released by Pfizer and BioTech, the duo is sharing that study results are demonstrating a strong defense against recent strains of the virus in some of our youngest kids, ages six months to four years.
Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer reports “Our COVID-19 vaccine has been studied in thousands of children and adolescents, and we are pleased that our formulation for the youngest children, which we carefully selected to be one-tenth of the dose strength for adults, was well tolerated and produced a strong immune response.”
This release is a welcome announcement after the rollercoaster parents of young children have been on while they wait for vaccine protection for their kids. Back in February, everyone got their hopes up that the vaccine would be submitted for this age group, but results showed a weaker response for kids ages two to four. It appears the three-dose regime will fix the immunity issues.
The Phase 2/3 trial studied 1,678 children who received a third dose of the vaccine at least two months after the second dose. During that time, the highly contagious Omicron variant was particularly predominant, but the vaccine held fast. Researchers reported a 80.3% efficacy against the virus.
The study saw 10 symptomatic COVID-19 cases take place seven days after the third dose through Apr. 29, 2022. According to protocol, once 21 cases have been identified, a formal analysis on the results will be conducted.
Bourla continued, “These topline safety, immunogenicity and efficacy data are encouraging, and we look forward to soon completing our submissions to regulators globally with the hope of making this vaccine available to younger children as quickly as possible, subject to regulatory authorization.”
The three-dose regimen will be sent to the FDA for approval this week, with hopes for approval sometime in June.
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