A child is given a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pediatric vaccine.
Myla Lopez | Reuters
Independent vaccine experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday endorsed Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 shots for babies under 6 months old.
The CDC committee voted unanimously to recommend the shots for use in infants through preschoolers after two days of open meetings to the public. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Valensky is expected to sign off on the committee’s recommendation later this week, which would allow pharmacies and the doctor’s office to begin administering the shots.
The White House expects vaccinations for children under the age of 5 to begin Tuesday, the June twentieth federal holiday. Ashish Jha, who oversees the Biden administration’s COVID response, appointment availability may be limited initially, but every parent who wants to get their child vaccinated should be able to do so over the next few weeks. .
Less than two years after the first shot for the elderly was authorized in December 2020, nearly everyone in the US is now eligible for a COVID vaccination.
“I strongly believe vaccines deserve to be recommended,” said CDC committee chair Dr. Grace Lee. “We can clearly prevent hospitalizations and deaths. And I believe we have the potential to prevent long-term complications of infection that we don’t understand yet.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommended in a statement Saturday that parents get their children vaccinated and bring any questions or concerns to their family doctor.
covid risk for children
Although covid is usually less severe in children than in adults, the virus can be fatal for some children. Covid is the fifth leading cause of death for children aged 1 to 4 years. according to CDC data, Since January 2020, more than 200 children in the age group of 6 months to 4 years have died of Kovid.
According to CDC data, more than 2 million children in this age group have been infected with COVID during the pandemic, and more than 20,000 have been hospitalized.
Hospitalizations of children under the age of 5 with COVID increased during the winter omicron wave, which affects the highest levels of the epidemic for this age group. Most of them, 86%, were recruited mainly because of the impact of COVID on their health, according to CDC data, In other words, he was not selected in the data because he tested positive for the virus after admission for another health reason.
According to CDC data, more than 50% of children under the age of 5 who were hospitalized had no underlying medical condition. About a quarter of children hospitalized in this age group ended up in the intensive care unit.
Nearly 2,000 children under the age of 5 developed Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, or MIS-C, following a COVID infection. MIS-C is a condition in which multiple organ systems – the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or digestive organs – become inflamed. Nine children under the age of 5 have died of MIS-C.
“These very clear data break the myth that this infection is not life-threatening in this age group,” said Dr. Sarah Long, a committee member and pediatrician at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.
Pfizer, Moderna Vaccine Difference
The Pfizer vaccine is given in three doses to children aged 6 months to 4 years. The shots are dosed at 3 micrograms, which is one-tenth of the level adults get. The three shots were about 75% effective in preventing mild illness caused by Omicron in children 6 months to 2 years old and 82% effective in children 2 to 4 years old.
However, data on vaccine effectiveness is preliminary and accurate because it is based on a small population of 10 children, with estimates of 14% to 96% protection against Omicron. Bill Gruber, Pfizer’s head of vaccine research, said the antibody response seen in children after three doses, which was higher than those aged 16 to 25 who received two shots, should be reassuring. The vaccine is effective.
Committee member Dr. Matthew Daly said of the vaccine’s effectiveness estimate, “In the interest of complete transparency for parents, it is appropriate for me to acknowledge the uncertainty surrounding this.”
It is important that parents choosing Pfizer ensure that their children get a third shot for protection against the virus. The two doses were about 14% effective in preventing infection for children under 2 years of age, and 33% effective for children 2 to 4 years old.
“I don’t want parents to have the impression that two doses are good enough,” said Daly, a pediatrician who investigates vaccine safety.
Moderna vaccine is given in two doses to children aged 6 months to 5 years. The shots are dosed at 25 micrograms, which is a quarter of the level adults get.
Moderna’s vaccine was about 51% effective in preventing mild illness from Omicron for children 6 months to 2 years of age, and about 37% effective for children 2 to 5 years of age. However, the company expected the vaccine to provide stronger protection against serious disease because children who received two doses had higher antibody levels than adults.
Leading Moderna’s COVID vaccine development, Dr. According to Rituparna Das, Moderna is studying a booster dose targeting Omicron for children in this age group with expected data on the shot’s safety and expected immune response in the fall.
According to the FDA, the most common side effects from vaccines were injection site pain, irritability and crying, loss of appetite, and trouble sleeping. Some children who received either shot developed a fever higher than 102 degrees Fahrenheit, and there were no cases of myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation, in Pfizer’s or Moderna’s trials.
