Pfizer's vaccine was found to be more than 90 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19 in children between the ages of 5 and 11, the company says.
Pfizer and BioNTech released the new data on Friday from a trial that included about 2,000 children after previously seeking FDA emergency authorization to administer its COVID-19 vaccine to kids, CNN reports. The company said the vaccine was shown to be safe and 90.7 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19 in children aged 5 to 11. The Pfizer vaccine is fully approved for those 16 and older and has also been authorized for those between 12 and 15.
Previously, Pfizer said its vaccine was found to be "safe, well-tolerated, and showed robust neutralizing antibody responses" in children 5 to 11 in a trial. FDA advisers are set to meet next week to consider whether to recommend authorizing the vaccine for younger kids, according to The New York Times.
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The White House has said this vaccine could potentially be available for kids by Thanksgiving, and it unveiled a plan to distribute the vaccine after its approval earlier this week. Policy adviser Sonya Bernstein told The New York Times the Biden administration is aiming for a "kid-friendly experience that makes sure that we're getting shots in arms with trusted providers in ways that makes parents feel comfortable."
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