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.
