The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine could become available for children younger than 5 by the end of February, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post on Monday. This would be the first vaccine made available for the age group in the United States.
The companies are expected to soon submit a request to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency-use authorization of the vaccine in kids 6 months to 5 years old, the Post reports. Once the FDA receives the application, regulators will begin reviewing the trial data on the two-shot regimen; data on a third shot won't be available until the end of March, at the earliest. The FDA's outside advisers will likely meet on the authorization request in mid-February, the Post reports.
Pfizer and BioNTech shared in December that two doses of its vaccine in 2-, 3-, and 4-year-olds didn't trigger the same type of immune response as seen in teens and adults, but did for children 6 months to 2 years old. During the trial, the kids received two doses of 3-microgram shots — a tenth of the dose given to adults — three weeks apart. Read more at The Washington Post.