American Pfizer Inc and German biotech company BioNTech said on the 14th that healthy children aged 5 to 11 were given the third dose of the COVID-19 (2019 coronavirus disease) vaccine they produced, for the Omicron variant Has significant protection.
According to a study, serum analysis of 30 pediatric subjects who received a booster shot showed a 36-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies once morest Omicron, Pfizer and BNT said. Neutralizing antibodies once morest the original version of the virus also increased 6-fold following the booster dose.
The companies said they planned to apply for U.S. emergency use authorization for booster doses for this age group in the next few days, with additional applications to follow with global regulators, including the European Medicines Agency. .
The mid- to late-stage study was to test the safety and immunogenicity of a 10-mcg booster dose in 140 healthy children aged 5 to 11 years. The vaccine for adults is 30 micrograms.
It remains unclear what the demand for a third dose of the vaccine in this age group will be. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only 28 percent of children in this age group are fully vaccinated, or regarding 8 million.
Health experts said the data were “promising” but cautioned that the study was very small and more data was needed to understand the extent to which the booster prevented severe illness and hospitalization in children, as well as the effect on future new variants .
“Overall, the results of this data are very positive,” said Anna Bershteyn, an expert at NYU Langone Health. “But at the same time, there are some issues that cannot be Neglect, such as its persistence? And the ability to fight once morest new variants in the future?”
In addition, given the lower risk of severe illness and hospitalization following contracting COVID-19 in this age group, there are questions regarding the need for booster shots in younger children.
But despite this, many parents still have a strong desire to vaccinate their children, said Scott Hadland, a physician at Massachusetts Children’s General Hospital.