April 18, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Pfizer: Vaccines for 2-5 year olds will become available at the end of February

As soon as Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine formulations are approved for children under 5 years of age, which is expected in the coming weeks, vaccines will become available for this age group.

The companies will apply for an emergency marketing authorization for their vaccine with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to The Washington Post. Vaccines are expected to be available for use by the end of February. The publication article says:

“The idea is to go ahead and start looking at two doses. If the data are good (…), the two main doses can be started in children a few months earlier than if we waited for the data to be collected for the third dose.”

Last month, Pfizer announced that the latest data from clinical trials in children under five years of age is expected in April. She changed her studies to add a third dose, which should be given 8 weeks after the second. This adjustment was made because children aged 2-4 years who received 2 doses of 3 mcg produced a smaller immune response than older children who received a large dose.

The Greek scientist, professor of microbiology Spyros Pournaras, speaking about cases of coronavirus in children, emphasized that the spread of omicron is “the main reason why children should be vaccinated. Pediatricians consider it necessary. Greek children, compared to other countries, are vaccinated in small numbers. Children are not at risk if they are vaccinated. Parents should be aware of this. This is a reservoir of infection that will not decrease as long as children remain unvaccinated.”



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