Vaccine.Photo: Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty
Pfizer and BioNTech will study the impacts ofa third COVID-19 vaccine dose in childrenunder 5 after determining a two-dose regimen did not elicit enough of an immune response in some children.
The companies announced Friday that the two-dose vaccine was effective in children under age 2, similar to those in the 16-24 age bracket. However, children ages 2 through 5 generally did not have the same response.
Kathrin Jansen, head of vaccine research at Pfizer, said Friday in a call with investors that current data shows that three doses of the vaccine is likely to provide more protection than two, according to NBC News.
“Therefore, we have decided to modify each of the pediatric studies to incorporate a third dose to the series and seek licensure for a three-dose series rather than a two-dose series as originally anticipated,” said Jansen, per the outlet.
Cleveland clinic
In Phases 2 and 3 of the Pfizer-BioNTech study, children under age 5 received a lower two-dose schedule than those between the ages of 5 and 12 years old based on findings from Phase 1, according to the release.
The study assess 4,500 children in three age groups — ages 5 to under 12 years, ages 2 to under 5 years and ages 6 months to under 2 years — in the United States, Finland, Poland, and Spain.
The companies are also testing the impacts of third doses in children ages 5 to 11 and 12 and 17.
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine.Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use in children ages 12 to 15 backin May. The vaccine received the same approval for children ages 5 to 11 six months laterin November.
News of the delay in releasing vaccine data for children ages 5 and under comes as the omicron variant spreads rapidly across the globe ahead of the Christmas holiday. So far, the highly-contagious strain has been found in39 of the 50 states, according to CDC data.
But Jansen said that the delay in resultswill likely not impactthe timetable for requesting emergency authorization.
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source: people.com
