Pfizer will ask for approval of its vaccine for children between 6 months and 5 years old

Pfizer BioNTech Laboratory Chief Financial Officer, Frank D’Amelio, Confirmed that the company will apply for approval of its COVID-19 vaccine to the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for minors between 6 months and 5 years.

“We hope to have sufficient data on the reaction to the vaccine in children between 6 months and 5 years early to present to the FDA,” said D’Amelio at the conference Morgan Stanley Global Health Care in front of members of the industry.

According to reports, the company’s idea is to submit the documents in October to have a response before the end of the year. Days ago, the lab announced that they have enough studies to apply for approval of vaccine use for children between 5 and 11 years old.

Without giving specific data, D’Amelio assured that the order for younger children will be made “just days after ordering for children over 5, assuming the data found will all be positive”.

So far, the vaccine developed by Pfizer is the only one that has received full approval from the FDA (The rest of the vaccines still have emergency approval), and which can be placed at over 12 years of age, When for other vaccines it is required to be at least 18 years old.

The problem of VOCID in minors has increased in recent months. the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP for its acronym in English) state that COVID-19 infections have increased exponentially in children since last July.

Only last week were they reported 243,373 cases of children in the country. The increase was 240% since July, when 71,726 pediatric cases were averaged per week.

“After a decline in early summer, cases in children have increased exponentially with about half a million cases in the last two weeks“They have stated from the AAP in a statement sent to the press.

Logically, according to experts, one of the factors that is most affecting the increase in infections is the return to face-to-face classes -which in most states of the country has occurred between late August and early September-, combined with the fact that children under 12 are not eligible for the vaccine.

From the beginning of the pandemic, about 5.3 million children have contracted COVID in the country. Pediatric infections currently account for 29% of cases in the country.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 63% of the population eligible for the vaccine (Over 12 years) has already been inoculated, but the figures are below 50 percent if you consider those between 12 and 17 years old.

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