By Asmau Ahmad with agency report
The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved for emergency use a single booster dose of Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.
The booster dose, FDA said, should come at least five months after the completion of the primary vaccine series with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.
“While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the Omicron wave has seen more kids getting sick with the disease and being hospitalised, and children may also experience longer-term effects, even following initially mild disease,” said FDA Commissioner, Robert M. Califf.
“The FDA is authorising the use of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for children 5 through 11 years of age to provide continued protection against COVID-19.
“Vaccination continues to be the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 and its severe consequences, and it is safe. If your child is eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and has not yet received their primary series, getting them vaccinated can help protect them from the potentially severe consequences that can occur, such as hospitalisation and death,” Calif said.
Recall that on January 3, the FDA authorised the use of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for administration to individuals 12 through 15 years of age after completion of primary vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.
It added that today’s action expands the use of a single booster dose of the vaccine for administration to individuals 5 through 11 years of age at least five months after completion of a primary series of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.
“The FDA has authorised the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for use in individuals 5 years of age and older and has approved Comirnaty (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) for use in individuals 16 years of age and older.
“The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is effective in helping to prevent the most severe consequences of COVID-19 in individuals 5 years of age and older,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Centre for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
“Since authorising the vaccine for children down to 5 years of age in October 2021, emerging data suggest that vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 wanes after the second dose of the vaccine in all authorised populations.
The FDA has determined that the known and potential benefits of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for children 5 through 11 years of age at least five months after completing a primary series outweigh its known and potential risks and that a booster dose can help provide continued protection against COVID-19 in this and older age groups,” the FDA said,
