Pfizer says the COVID-19 vaccine protects teens

Pfizer announced on Wednesday that the COVID-19 vaccine can provide safe and powerful protection for even 12-year-old children. This is a step towards the possibility of starting firing in this age group before returning to school in the fall.

Most COVID-19 vaccine What is being deployed around the world Coronavirus.. Pfizer vaccines are approved for ages 16 and up. But vaccination of children of all ages is important to stop the pandemic — and help schools, at least the upper grades, start to look a little more normal after months of turmoil.

Pfizer, in a study of 2,260 US volunteers between the ages of 12 and 15, found that fully vaccinated adolescents had no cases of COVID-19, whereas adolescents were given dummy shots. Reported that there were 18 cases.

Another important piece of evidence is how well Shot activated the child’s immune system, as this is a small study that has not yet been published. Researchers have reported antibodies that fight high levels of the virus, which are somewhat higher than those found in studies of young adults.

According to the company, children had the same side effects as young adults. The main side effects are pain, fever, chills and malaise, especially after the second dose. In this study, participants will be followed for two years for more details on long-term protection and safety.

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech will ask the US Food and Drug Administration and European regulators to allow emergency use of shots from the age of 12 in the coming weeks.

“We share the urgency to expand vaccine use,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement. He expressed in the United States “hope to start vaccination in this age group before the start of the next school year.”

Pfizer isn’t the only one trying to lower the age limit for vaccines. Immediate results are also expected from a US study of Moderna vaccines between the ages of 12 and 17.

However, as a sign that the findings were promising, the FDA has already allowed the two companies to begin a study in the United States in children under the age of 11 and walk the path to six months of age. I am.

Last month, AstraZeneca began researching vaccines for 6-17 year olds in the United Kingdom. Johnson & Johnson is planning its own pediatric study. In China, Sinovac recently announced that it has submitted preliminary data to Chinese regulators showing that the vaccine is safe for children up to the age of three.

Most COVID-19 vaccine Pediatric studies do not need to be that large, as they are first tested in tens of thousands of adults worldwide. Scientists have safety information from these studies and the subsequent vaccination of millions of adults.

One of the important questions is the dose. Pfizer gave participants 12 years and older the same dose that adults would receive, and tested different doses in infants.

It’s not clear how quickly the FDA will respond to Pfizer’s request to allow vaccination from age 12. Another question is when the country will supply enough shots and people will put them in adolescent arms so that the children can line up. ..

Supply is set to grow steadily over spring and summer, while the state is beginning to vaccinate young, healthy adults who were previously out of order.

Approximately 13% of COVID-19 cases recorded in the United States are children, and children are far less likely to become seriously ill than adults, but at least 268 people died of COVID-19 in the United States alone, Over 13,500 people are hospitalized. For counting by the American Academy of Pediatrics. It’s more than dying from the flu in the average year. In addition, few people have developed a serious inflammatory condition associated with the coronavirus.

Caleb Chung, who turns 13 later this week, agreed to volunteer after his father, a pediatrician at Duke University, offered his options. I don’t know if he was vaccinated or placebo.

“Usually I run an online school at home and there’s not really much I can do to fight the virus,” Caleb said in a recent interview. This study was “a place where I could actually help.”

His father, Dr. Richard Chung, said he was proud that his son and all other children were volunteering for needlesticks, blood tests, and other jobs associated with research.

“In order for children to be protected, they need to do these tests. Adults can’t do it for them,” Chung said.

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AP video journalist Federica Narancio contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press’s Department of Health Sciences is supported by the Department of Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AP is solely responsible for all content.