Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine protects younger teens

Pfizer announced Wednesday that its COVID19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12 a step toward possibly beginning shots in this age group before they head back to school in the fallMost COVID19 vaccines being rolled out worldwide are for adults who are at higher risk from the coronavirus Pfizers vaccine is authorised for ages 16 and older But vaccinating children of all ages will be critical to stopping the pandemic mdash and helping schools at least the upper grades start to look a little more normal after months of disruptionIn a study of 2260 US volunteers ages 12 to 15 preliminary data showed there were no cases of COVID19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared to 18 among those given dummy shots Pfizer reportedIts a small study that hasnt yet been published so another important piece of evidence is how well the shots revved up the kids immune systems Researchers reported high levels of virusfighting antibodies somewhat higher than were seen in studies of young adultsKids had side effects similar to young adults the company said The main side effects are pain fever chills and fatigue particularly after the second dose The study will continue to track participants for two years for more information about longterm protection and safetyPfizer and its German partner BioNTech in the coming weeks plan to ask the US Food and Drug Administration and European regulators to allow emergency use of the shots starting at age 12ldquoWe share the urgency to expand the use of our vaccinerdquo Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement He expressed ldquothe hope of starting to vaccinate this age group before the start of the next school year in the United StatesPfizer isnt the only company seeking to lower the age limit for its vaccine Results also are expected soon from a US study of Modernas vaccine in 12 to 17yearoldsBut in a sign that the findings were promising the FDA already allowed both companies to begin US studies in children 11 and younger working their way to as young as 6montholdAstraZeneca last month began a study of its vaccine among 6 to 17yearolds in Britain Johnson amp Johnson is planning its own pediatric studies And in China Sinovac recently announced it has submitted preliminary data to Chinese regulators showing its vaccine is safe in children as young as 3While most COVID19 vaccines being used globally were first tested in tens of thousands of adults pediatric studies wont need to be nearly as large Scientists have safety information from those studies and from subsequent vaccinations in millions more adultsOne key question is the dosage Pfizer gave the 12andolder participants the same dose adults receive while testing different doses in younger childrenIts not clear how quickly the FDA would act on Pfizers request to allow vaccination starting at age 12 Another question is when the country would have enough supply of shots mdash and people to get them into adolescents arms mdash to let kids start getting in lineSupplies are set to steadily increase over the spring and summer at the same time states are opening vaccinations to younger healthier adults who until now havent had a turnChildren represent about 1337 of COVID19 cases documented in the US And while children are far less likely than adults to get seriously ill at least 268 have died from COVID19 in the US alone and more than 13500 have been hospitalised according to a tally by the American Academy of Pediatrics Thats more than die from the flu in an average year Additionally a small number have developed a serious inflammatory condition linked to the coronavirusCaleb Chung who turns 13 later this week agreed to volunteer after his father a Duke University pediatrician presented the option He doesnt know if he received the vaccine or a placeboldquoUsually Im just at home doing online school and theres not much I can really do to fight back against the virusrdquo Caleb said in a recent interview The study ldquowas really somewhere that I could actually help outrdquoHis father Dr Richard Chung said hes proud of his son and all the other children volunteering for the needle pricks blood tests and other tasks a study entailsldquoWe need kids to do these trials so that kids can get protected Adults cant do that for themrdquo Chung saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever