Pfizer Says COVID-19 Vaccine More Than 90% Effective At Protecting Kids
WASHINGTON (AP/CBS)-- Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective at protecting kids from infection, ahead of public review, AP reports.
Pfizer officially submitted a request to the FDA for emergency authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old, earlier this month.
Pfizer announced trials showed the vaccine was "safe," "well tolerated," and resulted in "robust neutralizing antibody responses."
The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech already is available for anyone 12 and older. But with kids now back in school and the extra-contagious delta variant causing a huge jump in pediatric infections, many parents are anxiously awaiting vaccinations for their younger children.
For elementary school-aged kids, Pfizer tested a much lower dose -- a third of the amount that's in each shot given now. Yet after their second dose, children ages 5 to 11 developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teenagers and young adults, Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer senior vice president, told The Associated Press.
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