It could be a happy Halloween for kids and parents in the United States this year.
Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday announced that its COVID-19 vaccine was shown to be safe and effective in kids ages 5 to 11 in a trial, which consisted of 2,268 participants. The companies plan to submit the data to the FDA "with urgency," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said. On CBS Mornings, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said this means that if all goes well, kids in this age group could potentially start getting vaccinated as soon as Halloween.
"Now that they have the data, they could be ready to file this within days with the Food and Drug Administration," Gottlieb said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He noted that the FDA has said that reviewing the vaccine data will take a matter of weeks, and, pointing to his own experience at the agency, he suggested this likely means "four to six weeks." Given that, "I think that there's a possibility you could have a vaccine as early as around Halloween — maybe a little bit later, you might lose a week here or there," Gottlieb explained.
The FDA has already authorized the Pfizer vaccine for kids between 12 and 15, but parents have been anxiously awaiting authorization for younger children, especially since the start of the new school year. BioNTech CEO Dr. Ugur Sahin said Monday that "we are pleased to be able to submit data to regulatory authorities for this group of school-aged children before the start of the winter season."
Pfizer's announcement also specified that the vaccine was effective using a dose three times smaller than the amount that's being administered for those 12 and older, which Gottlieb explained was the "optimal dose that had the best compromise between reducing the number of vaccine-related side effects, while still providing efficacy that's on par with what we saw in 16 to 25 year olds."
-
‘The Taliban delivers yet another brutal blow’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Renewables top coal as Trump seeks reversalSpeed Read For the first time, renewable energy sources generated more power than coal, said a new report
-
Prime minister shocks France with resignationSpeed Read French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu submitted his government’s resignation after less than a month in office
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the riseThe Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
Why are autism rates increasing?The Explainer Medical experts condemn Trump administration’s claim that paracetamol during pregnancy is linked to rising rates of neurodevelopmental disorder in US and UK
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Cytomegalovirus can cause permanent birth defectsThe Explainer The virus can show no symptoms in adults
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
