PFIZER RESULTS OFFER HOPE AMID WORSENING PANDEMIC FOR KIDS

Pfizer’s test results that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective among children ages 5 to 11 provides a glimmer of hope to parents desperate to get their younger children protected against the virus.

The vaccine manufacturer’s announcement, which didn’t include specific data from the trial, comes as COVID-19 has taken a greater toll on the pediatric population in recent weeks than previously in the pandemic.

Both child cases and hospitalizations have reached new heights amid the delta variant’s spread and the back-to-school season.

The uptick has raised the pressure on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials to authorize a vaccine for children younger than 12.

With the Pfizer results and the FDA’s previous statement that it will review submitted data “likely in a matter of weeks rather than months,” experts say the emergency authorization for the age group could come as early as next month. But they cautioned that the timing is far from certain.

“So, practically speaking, we’re talking about the prospect of having all school-aged kids fully vaccinated when school opens after the winter holidays,” Jeffrey Gerber, an attending physician in the division of infectious diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told The Hill.

“That is, if we can make it easy for them to get it and their parents choose for their children to be vaccinated,” he added.