EXPLAINER: COVID vaccines for kids under 5: What’s next?
Syringes and colorful bandages are prepared as children from Pittsfield schools visited Morningside School to get COVID-19 vaccines in Pittsfield, Mass., on Monday Dec. 13, 2021. Some of the kids were getting their first shot, a few were getting their second.
By Lauran Neergaard, AP Medical Writer
Parents who thought their children under 5 would have to wait several more months for COVID-19 vaccinations instead just might get them as early as March. Here’s what needs to happen first, and some things to expect if they do become available in the U.S.
Government review
Pfizer has asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize extra-low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months through 4 years. The FDA will review the application and convene a panel of outside advisers in mid-February to debate the data. The FDA will use that advice in deciding whether the new doses are safe and effective enough for the youngest children.
But that’s not the last step. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will gather its own expert panel to help decide if the shots should be recommended for this age group — and if so, for all of them or only those at higher risk from COVID-19.
Special shots
Shots for children in this age group are one-tenth the size of the adult doses. That’s even smaller than the doses given for 5- to 11-year-olds, which are one-third the dose. Pfizer will have to specially bottle the extra-low doses so vaccine providers don’t mix them up with the two other dosages already being used.
Two doses or three?
Here’s where this gets complicated. In December, Pfizer announced a setback: Preliminary study results showed two of the extra-low doses appeared strong enough to protect babies but weren’t strong enough for 2- to 4-year-olds. The company added a third shot to the study, but results are not expected until late March.
Still, the FDA took the highly unusual step of urging Pfizer to apply now for a two-dose series with potentially a third shot added later. During the FDA advisory committee meeting, the public will get its first look at any new evidence of whether two extra-low doses are working better than initially expected among the preschoolers.
If cleared, where would the shots be given?
While the government expanded pharmacists’ ability to vaccinate children during the pandemic, shots for the youngest children primarily are given in pediatricians’ offices.
What about kids younger than 6 months?
There are no plans to test shots in newborns.
Will the shots be in high demand?
Vaccinations have been lower among children than in other age groups, a pattern likely to continue with kids under 5. As of last week, just 20% of kids ages 5 to 11 and just over half of 12- to 17-year-olds were fully vaccinated, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Nearly three-quarters of adults are fully vaccinated. While COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the omicron wave has caused record numbers of child hospitalizations.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Mentally ill people are stuck in jail because they can’t get treatment. Here’s what’s to know
Hundreds of people across Alabama await a spot in the state’s increasingly limited facilities, despite a consent decree requiring the state to address delays in providing care for people who are charged with crimes but deemed too mentally ill to stand trial. But seven years since the federal agreement, the problem has only worsened.
Ivey appoints Will Parker to Alabama Supreme Court
Parker fills the court seat vacated by Bill Lewis who was tapped by President Donald Trump for a federal judgeship. The U.S. Senate last month confirmed Lewis as a U.S. district judge.
How Alabama Power kept bills up and opposition out to become one of the most powerful utilities in the country
In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators.
No more Elmo? APT could cut ties with PBS
The board that oversees Alabama Public Television is considering disaffiliating from PBS, ending a 55-year relationship.
Nonprofit erases millions in medical debt across Gulf South, says it’s ‘Band-Aid’ for real issue
Undue Medical Debt has paid off more than $299 million in medical debts in Alabama. Now, the nonprofit warns that the issue could soon get worse.
Roy Wood Jr. on his father, his son and his new book
Actor, comedian and writer Roy Wood Jr. is out with a new book -- "The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir." He writes about his experience growing up in Birmingham, losing his dad as a teenager and all the lessons he learned from various father figures throughout his career.
