Pfizer applies for a license to give booster shots for children aged 5-11 years

This move comes after a recent study showed that the booster injections with the Comirnaty vaccine produced a strong immune response in healthy children of this age group.

According to the pharmaceutical consortium Pfizer-BioNTech, 3rd stitch COVID-19 vaccine helps increase anti-Omicron antibodies by 36 times for children aged 5-11. Neutralizing antibodies against the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus, the vaccine target was developed to target, increase 6 times more after booster injection.

If approved, Comirnaty will be used as a booster for children aged 5-11 years who have had the full primary dose and 6 months after the last dose of vaccine. Children in this age group were given a dose of 10 micrograms, one-third of the adult dose.

The study was performed to test the safety and immunogenicity in 140 healthy children aged 5-11 years after a booster dose of 10 micrograms.

The third dose of COVID-19 vaccine helps to raise anti-Omicron antibodies 36 times for children 5-11 years old. (Photo: AP)

Earlier this year, the FDA approved the use of Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines as boosters for children 12-15 years of age and children 5 – 11 years old immunocompromised.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only 28% of children aged 5-11 in the US, or more than 8 million children, have completed basic doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. There is currently no approved COVID-19 vaccine for use in children under 5 years of age.

Earlier, US health officials said that the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5-11 had significantly decreased due to the Omicron wave. However, getting the full 2 ​​doses continues to protect children from severe COVID-19 disease. Currently, children under the age of 5 are the only age group that has not yet been approved for a vaccine against COVID-19 in the US.

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