Small doses of
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine are safe and appear 91% effective in preventing
symptomatic infections among 5 to 11-year-olds, the pharmaceutical major said
on Friday detailing the results of a study. Pfizer’s study comes only days
before the United States starts vaccinating children in the 5 to 11 age-group
from November. If health regulators in the United States give the green signal,
many children will be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Christmas.

Also Read | Fact Check: Has Joe Biden overstated his record on COVID vaccine?

The details of
Pfizer’s study on vaccine effectiveness among children were posted online on
Friday. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to provide the
agency’s independent review of Pfizer vaccine’s safety and effectiveness for
kids later Friday and experts with the FDA are set to publicly debate the efficaciousness
of the vaccine next week.  

Also Read | Moderna, J&J booster shots receive final approval from CDC

As of now,
children above the age of 12 can take the full dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
However, paediatricians and a section of parents are anxiously awaiting a
vaccine for younger children so that kids can stay in school. Over 25,000 paediatricians
and primary caregivers have signed up to vaccinate kids.

Also Read | California to start vaccinating children aged 5-11 in coming weeks

If the vaccine for
kids gets a go-ahead from regulators, millions of shots will be shipped across
the country along with kid-sized needles. The federal administration has
already procured a large quantity of small doses in special orange-capped vials
to distinguish them from the adult vaccine. Nearly 28 million children are
expected to get the vaccine once approved.

Also Read | Pfizer, BioNTech study shows high efficacy of booster shots

The Pfizer study
that found small doses safe and effective tracked 2,268 children in the 5 to 11
age-group who got two vaccines three weeks apart of either a placebo or the
small-dose vaccine. Each dose of the vaccine given to children was one-third
the amount given to teens and adults.   

The researchers
found that the low-dose vaccine proved 91% effective on the basis of the 16
COVID-19 cases among youngsters given dummy shots against three cases among the
children who were vaccinated. No severe illnesses were reported among any of
the children.

(With inputs from
Associated Press)