FDA panel approves Moderna and Pfizer COVID vaccines for toddlers
A vax for tots is on the way.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel approved Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for children ages 5 and under on Wednesday.
The Moderna vaccine for tots is administered over a two-dose regimen. Each dose is 25% of an adult dose. Studies found the vaccine is effective at preventing severe illness but only prevents moderate infection at a 40% to 50% rate.
A vial of the Moderna COVID vaccine is seen on a pharmacy counter in Portland, Ore., last December. (Jenny Kane/)
The FDA’s vaccine honcho, Dr. Peter Marks, said 442 children under age 4 have died from COVID since the beginning of the pandemic. He noted that serious infections worryingly increased among the youngest Americans during last winter’s omicron surge.
If fully approved, the toddler-sized Moderna vaccine will be given to kids between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. FDA leaders, a Centers for Disease Control panel and CDC director Rochelle Walensky still need to approve the shots for kids. If they do, shots could be in arms as soon as Monday.
Pfizer has been a step or two ahead of Moderna throughout the vaccine rollout, but its initial two-dose regimen for toddlers proved to be ineffective, so Pfizer’s vaccine for kids under 5 requires three doses. Each of the three doses is one-tenth of the adult Pfizer vaccine.
Ilana Diener holds her son, 3-year-old Hudson, during an appointment for a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trial in Commack, N.Y. on Nov. 30, 2021. (EMMA H. TOBIN/)
Before seeking approval, Pfizer said its vaccine for children between 6 months and 4 years old was about 80% effective at preventing symptomatic infection. The shots will likely be offered alongside each other if they’re fully approved.
The vaccines have not been directly compared, and FDA advisers said they wouldn’t be able to recommend one over the other.
Currently, the only vaccine available for anyone between the ages of 5 and 17 is a Pfizer vaccine. An FDA advisory panel approved Moderna’s shot for kids between ages 6 and 17 on Tuesday.
With News Wire Services
