Pfizer announces trial results show vaccine is effective for children ages 5-11

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Sep 20, 2021

Pfizer released the results of their nine-month study on COVID-vaccinated children ages five to eleven. According to the trial, the vaccine showed a “favorable safety profile and robust neutralizing antibody responses” in young children.

First, 2,268 children were chosen as Pfizer’s subjects. All were given two doses of 10 µg 21 days apart. This is a third of the amount given to children and adults over sixteen years old.

“The 10 µg dose was carefully selected as the preferred dose for safety, tolerability and immunogenicity in children 5 to 11 years of age,” Pfizer’s statement read.

Then, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla lauded the study’s success. “Over the past nine months, hundreds of millions of people ages 12 and older from around the world have received our COVID-19 vaccine. We are eager to extend the protection afforded by the vaccine to this younger population, subject to regulatory authorization, especially as we track the spread of the Delta variant and the substantial threat it poses to children,” Bourla said in the same statement. “Since July, pediatric cases of COVID-19 have risen by about 240% in the U.S. – underscoring the public health need for vaccination. These trial results provide a strong foundation for seeking authorization of our vaccine for children five to eleven years old, and we plan to submit them to the FDA and other regulators with urgency.”

However, this comes three days after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s study on the vaccine’s effectiveness. As a result, the CDC reported the Pfizer vaccine is 5% less effective than Moderna’s. Yet, Pfizer is still 88% effective.

Next, the company anticipates to release the results of studies on children younger than five by the end of the year.

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