The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11, and Canada may follow suit very soon.
The FDA confirmed that the vaccine was over 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in children and found no serious side effects. This decision opens the door to the vaccination of 28 million children in the country.
The FDA advisory committee recommended approval of the vaccine after hours of expert testimony.
“As a mother and physician, I know that parents, caregivers, teachers and children have been eagerly awaiting this clearance,” Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the FDA, said in a statement.
“Vaccinating young children against COVID-19 is an additional step towards a return to normalcy,” she insisted.
Before the injections begin, a committee of experts from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) is in turn to meet early next week to deliver its opinion. This federal public health agency will then publish its recommendations, the final step in the process.
Dr. Supriya Sharma, Chief Medical Advisor at Health Canada, said Canadian officials have attended the meeting and are closely monitoring the process in the United States as Canada makes its own decision on the pediatric vaccine.
The doctor said it could still be a few weeks before Health Canada makes a final decision.
Earlier this week, Patricia Gauthier, the CEO of Moderna Canada, said the company plans to submit its own children’s vaccine soon for Health Canada approval.
With Agence France-Presse