CDC advisors meet to discuss vaccines for the youngest children

Almost exactly 18 months after the first coronavirus vaccine was approved for adults, and after months of scientific hiccups, the youngest Americans may finally get their shots.

About the discussions scheduled for Friday and Saturday, A scientific advisor at the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention is considering using the Moderna vaccine for children under the age of 6 and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children under the age of 5. Neither vaccine is intended for babies under 6 months of age. ((((Watch friday meeting here.. )

Food and Drug Administration Vaccine approved Before the CDC panel meeting begins on Friday. Assuming the advisors endorse the vaccine, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to approve it in a short period of time.state Already received millions of doses As early as Tuesday, we are ready to provide shots to our children.

Pfizer vaccines will be available to children ages 5-11 from November, Less than 30 percent I have received two shots of children of that age group.

However, the epidemiology surge in the United States has led to a record number of hospitalizations and emergency room visits for children aged 6 months to 4 years, especially among colored children, at a meeting on Friday. CDC researcher Dr. Catherine Fleming Dutra, who presented the epidemiological data, said. Their rate was higher than seen among older children.

She said more than half of the hospitalized children between the ages of 6 months and 4 had no underlying condition.

CDC panelists spent a considerable amount of time on Friday morning trying to identify how Omicron variants changed the risk to children. They said parents vaccinated their children for many other illnesses and the risk of death was equal or lower.

Dr. Sara Long, a panelist and infectious disease expert at Drexel University School of Medicine, said the data “should only overturn the myth that this infectious disease is not life-threatening in this age group.”

Some experts have shown similarities to influenza. Between October 2021 and April 2022, Covid-19 hospitalization rates were equal to or higher than the influenza hospitalization rates for the recent influenza season.

Dr. Matthew Daily, a senior researcher at Kaiser Permanente Colorado, said that 63% to 75% of parents of children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years have influenza in their children, despite the wide range of flu efficacy. He states that he has chosen to be vaccinated against the flu. CDC Vaccine Working Group.

Dr. Daley says that unvaccinated people over the age of 5 are 10 times more likely to die of Covid-19 than those who have been vaccinated more than once. The numbers “provide the real world-evidence that most deaths from Covid-19 can be prevented by vaccination,” he added.

Vaccine acceptance depends in part on how clear the CDC recommendations are. Although the FDA has approved the use of the vaccine, doctors have confirmed the details of how to use the vaccine with the CDC’s advisory board.

This time, the advice can be complicated, as the two vaccines differ in almost every respect.

For infants receiving the Moderna vaccine, the FDA has approved two doses of 25 micrograms, one-quarter of the dose used by adults, at 4-week intervals.

However, two doses of the Pfizer vaccine (only 3 micrograms each, or one-tenth the adult dose) create strong immunity to the virus in infants, according to data presented to authorities on Wednesday. Was inadequate.

To be effective, you need to get the Pfizer vaccine three times. The first two doses are given at 3-week intervals and the third dose is given at least 2 months later.

Some studies suggest that the vaccine may work better if the dosing interval is extended, and CDC is currently with children under the age of 12 If the risk of Covid-19 is low, you may consider a second vaccination 8 weeks after the first vaccine.

However, the United States has not collected the information needed to determine the ideal spacing for infants, FDA official Dr. Doran Fink said Friday.

“We’re unlikely to get relevant data from the United States, so we need to look at international real-world data,” he said.

FDA Advisor on Tuesday It also approved the use of Moderna vaccine for children over 6 years of age.However, the CDC committee has postponed the discussion until next Thursday.