Vaccine trials in children aged 5 to 11, only one step away

Companies Pfizer and BioNTech have announced this Monday that their vaccine against covid is safe for children, specifically 5 to 11-year-olds, and they plan to ask the European and United States health authorities for the necessary approval to be able to use it as soon as possible. This comes after the first results of vaccine trials with children carried out by the multinationals. As the companies have explained, the tests have shown a strong response by neutralising antibodies, after receiving two doses 21 days apart.

"We look forward to extending the protection offered by the vaccine to the younger population, subject to regulatory approval, especially as we track the spread of the delta variant and the substantial threat it poses to children," said Albert Bourla, president and CEO of Pfizer. Bourla noted that paediatric cases of covid have increased 240% since July in the United States. That is why, he said, it is necessary to start vaccinating children as soon as possible.

In the last nine months, hundreds of millions of children over 12 have received the vaccine worldwide. Now the results of the trials among the youngest children provide, according to the companies, a solid basis for obtaining health authorisation "as a matter of urgency". The study has been carried out with a total of 2,268 participants aged between 5 and 11. The trial, however, also includes younger children, between 6 months old and 5 years old, and it is expected that the first conclusions on this age group will also be published before the end of the year.