Photo: JOSEPH PREZIOSO / AFP / Getty Images
WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA ) authorized the Friday emergency use of the Covid vaccine – 19 by Pfizer / BioNTech for ages 5 to 11 years.
The FDA released its decision three days after a scientific committee of that agency recommended the use of the doses in the minors of that group .
Following FDA clearance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should study and decide whether to authorize immunization against Covid – 19 in this age group, which is estimated to encompass some 28 million people in the US
The FDA indicated on its website that it based its authorization on the effectiveness of this vaccine , which reached 90. 7% in the prevention of Covid – 19 among children from 5 to 11 years. It is a percentage comparable with that of other groups, such as that reached in the group of young people between 16 and 25 years.
The agency noted that the efficacy data of the Covid vaccine – 19 from Pfizer / BioNTech come from an ongoing study of 4, 700 children in the United States, Finland, Poland and Spain.
He also stated that after a study in about 3, 100 children of that age, no “serious side effects” were detected.
For the case of children from 5 to 11 years, the FDA indicated that Pfizer / BioNTech Covid Vaccine – 19 should be given in two doses three weeks apart.
According to the FDA, this population group should given a “lower dose” of 10 micrograms versus 30 micrograms used in people of 12 years and more.
The regulatory body indicated that the cases of Covid – 19 among children from 5 to 11 years represent the 39% of infections in people under 18 years in the United States.
In addition, he detailed, citing CDC figures, that around 8, 300 Cases of Covid – 19 among minors of this age range resulted in hospitalization.
According to FDA data, of the 691 deaths from Covid – 19 between children under 18 years recorded in the United States to the past 17 October, 146 corresponded to small between 5 and 11 years.