The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine has been authorised to be administered to babies as young as six-months-old and children as old as four years, the UK's medicines regulator has confirmed, the Mirror reports. Safety, quality and effectiveness standards are met by a low dose, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said.
While this decision has been made, it allows vaccine advisers to choose whether the jab should be given to under-fives as part of the country's vaccination strategy. While they authorised the vaccine, whether it is deployed in the age group is reliant on a recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which is responsible for advising UK health department on which shots should be used as part of the national vaccination programme.
The Pfizer vaccine has been tailored for us on this younger age group, with a lower dosage than the one used on children aged between five and 11 years. Lower doses will help children avoid complications, such as myocarditis; a rare condition that caused health chiefs concern in the early days of the pandemic.
The MHRA opted for the lower dosage after reviewing data from an ongoing clinical trial, based on administering a 3 microgram dose of the vaccine to 4,526 infants. The jab will be given as three injections in the upper arm, with the first two being given three weeks apart. The third dose will then follow at least two months after the second.
A statement released on the Government’s website on Tuesday morning said: “The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised the vaccine in this new age group after it has been found to meet the UK regulator’s standards of safety, quality and effectiveness, with no new safety concerns identified. This decision has been endorsed by the Commission on Human Medicines, after a careful review of the evidence.”
For comparison, adults in Britain get a dose 10 times stronger, while older children, who are allowed to be vaccinated in the UK, get given a dose of up to 10micrograms. Many countries, including the US, China and Israel, already offer vaccines to kids under five.
US officials rolled out this version of Pfizer's shot for the same age group earlier this year, and months ago, EU regulators also endorsed the use of Covid vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna or under-fives.
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