Pfizer: COVID-19 vaccine more than 90% effective in kids
A dose of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is delivered at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, California, on Dec. 16, 2020. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
Pfizer says kid-size doses of its COVID-19 vaccine are safe and nearly 91% effective at preventing infections in elementary school children.
Details of the study were posted online Friday as U.S. regulators consider opening vaccinations to youngsters 5 to 11.
The shots could begin early next month -- with the first children in line fully protected by Christmas -- if regulators give the go-ahead.
RELATED: Gov. DeSantis calling special session to ban vaccine mandates for workers
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to post its initial review of the company’s safety and effectiveness data later Friday. Next week, advisers to the FDA will publicly debate the evidence.
If the FDA then authorizes the low-dose shots, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make the final recommendations on who should receive them.
Full-strength Pfizer shots already are authorized for anyone 12 or older, but pediatricians and many parents are anxiously awaiting protection for younger children to stem rising infections from the extra-contagious delta variant and help keep kids in school.