Pfizer and BioNTech have announced that their SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, given in a three-dose regimen, leads to a strong immune response among small children, the Washington Post reports.
According to the companies, small children between the ages of 6 months to just under 5 years old who received the three doses had immune responses similar to teenagers and young adults after they received a second dose. The companies further say that the vaccine was well tolerated by children and that it had an 80 percent efficacy during the Omicron wave, though the efficacy analysis was based on early data. The doses given to the young children was a third of that given to adults and even older children and adolescents.
The companies had reported in December that two doses of their vaccine did not generate the needed immune response among two-to-four year olds, which led them to test a third dose of the vaccine. That also delayed their timeline for seeking emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration, as the agency decided to wait until additional data was available.
According to CNN, Pfizer and BioNTech plan to submit these new data to the FDA this week.