NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Children as young as six-months-old could soon be vaccinated.
The Pfizer drug company has asked the FDA to authorize extra-low doses of its adult COVID-19 vaccine for children under five.
Dr. Mark Cline, the chief medical officer and physician-in-chief at Children’s Hospital New Orleans, says a vaccine for small children can’t come soon enough.
“January’s been a rough month,” explained Dr. Kline. “There’s been a lot of kids in the hospital with COVID, and, well, over half of them had been under five years of age.”
A New Orleans mother had her three children participate in the Pfizer vaccine trial for kids this past summer and says it’s a relief that their family can now begin to lead more normal lives.
“To be able to safely plan a family trip without worrying if we’re going to unintentionally expose our kids to COVID, all of those things are really what drove us to participate in the trial and, ultimately, being very excited that our kids are vaccinated,” said Dr. Erin Biro.
Dr. Biro believes parents should treat this vaccine as any other vaccine children get to attend school.
“And so, my kids are living proof,” said Biro. “They are six-months post-vaccine now and have had no side effects and, in fact, are just really thriving because they have been vaccinated.”
Dr. Kline is confident that the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee, along with the CDC will look at the data very carefully before final approval.
“Once they review it, if they come back and say, ‘yes, we believe it’s safe and effective,’ then I’ll be as eager as anyone to recommend it for these young children,” said Dr. Kline.
According to Kline, the FDA advisory committee is going to meet February 15 to make a recommendation before moving forward to the CDC for a final decision.
He expects it to be a fairly quick process and that Children’s Hospital will have access to the vaccine by the end of the month.