(OTTAWA) The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has released new guidelines that favor giving children the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine over Moderna, which was just approved for toddlers.
Posted at 12:13 p.m.
Health Canada on Thursday approved the administration of Moderna’s pediatric vaccine for children 6 to 11 years old.
The risk of heart inflammation (myocarditis) with Moderna’s vaccine for children is currently unknown. But the Advisory Committee recalls that compared to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the adult dose of Moderna carries a slightly higher risk of an adverse, rare complication in adolescents.
For this reason, the Advisory Committee recommends that Moderna’s vaccine be offered to children “as an alternative” to Pfizer, which is still preferable for the first two doses, however, due to this potential, but unknown, risk of myocarditis.
On the other hand, the Advisory Committee points out that Moderna’s vaccine appears to be slightly more effective than Pfizer after two doses, based on proxy data from adult populations. Given this “potential benefit,” the Advisory Committee says a three-dose regimen of Moderna may be considered for some immunocompromised children.