A low-dose version of the Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine appears to generate an immune response among children between the ages of 5 and 11, the Washington Post reports.
The Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for individuals 16 years old and older, and is available for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16 under an emergency use authorization. A vaccine for children has been long awaited, the Associated Press notes, especially with the return to in-person schooling and an increase in pediatric COVID-19 cases with the Delta variant.
It adds that the version of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine Pfizer and BioNTech tested in children is about one-third of the dose given to other age groups, but that, after the second dose, the younger kids appear to have antibody levels as high as older kids getting the full dose.
According to the Post, Pfizer and BioNTech plan to seek emergency use authorization for their vaccine for this age group.
It adds that data on children under the age of 5 is expected later this year, and notes that Moderna is also conducting a trial with children as young as six months old.