Low Dose Pfizer Vaccine Safe, Effective In Children 5-11, Company Says

DETROIT, MI - APRIL 06: A group of teenagers serving as 'Covid-19 Student Ambassadors' joined Governor Gretchen Whitmer to receive a dose of the Pfizer Covid vaccine at Ford Field during an event to promote and encourage Michigan residents to go and get their vaccines on April 6, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. As the US reaches a milestone in vaccinations, a surge of new Covid-19 cases has swept through the US with Michigan seeing the highest numbers of new cases. (Photo by Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)

Pfizer announced Monday that after a clinical trial a lower-dose Covid-19 vaccine has been found to be safe and effective in young children. The news comes at a time when cases of the virus are skyrocketing among children, now accounting for one in five cases. The Delta variant has sent more children to hospitals in recent weeks than at any time during the pandemic, according to The New York Times.

The plan is for the company to submit its results to the FDA for approval by the end of the month with the hope that millions of children could be inoculated by Halloween.

Good news for parents this morning. For the first time, we have vaccine data for children age 5-11. It is early and still needs to be peer-reviewed, but looks good. "Safe” and a “robust” antibody response." And, this age group makes up ~9% of the population. @Pfizer pic.twitter.com/wQXV0Y06RY
— Dr. Sanjay Gupta (@drsanjaygupta) September 20, 2021

“There’s going to be a huge number of parents who are going to heave a big sigh of relief when they hear this. We’ve been waiting for these kids to be protected.”
Dr. Kristin Oliver, New York Pediatrician via The New York Times