accelerate that process and really improve on nature,” Gruber says.
Among 12- to 17-year-olds eligible for the Pfizer shot since May, only about half have received at least one dose, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
More than 5 million cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, have been reported among children and teens, causing 20,000 hospitalizations and 460 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
As children have returned to classrooms, many families and schools have been navigating disruptive quarantines and divisive masking policies.
In July, the FDA asked Pfizer and Moderna to increase the size of their pediatric trials to ensure the safety data was robust, the Post reports. There were nearly 2,300 children between the ages of 5 and 11 in Pfizer’s trial, two-thirds of whom received the vaccine. The rest received saline shots.
READ: COVID Vaccines for Kids Under 12 Could Come This Fall
The trial showed that children who received the vaccine had immune responses similar to those seen in teens and young adults, according to Pfizer. Two shots of a 10-microgram dose, spaced three weeks apart, were well-tolerated.
Gruber says there appears to be less fever and fewer chills among younger children than in a comparison group of 16- to 25-year-olds, bolstering the company’s confidence that it has found the right dose.
Pfizer is seeking emergency use authorization for the pediatric vaccine dose as it continues to gather data to support full approval in children.
Data on children younger than 5 is expected by the end of the year, the Post reports. Moderna is also conducting a trial in children as young as six months.
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