Covid-19 Vaccination Authorized for Children Five Through Eleven Years Olds

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 to include children five through eleven years of age. The authorization was based on the FDA’s thorough and transparent evaluation of the data that included input from independent advisory committee experts who overwhelmingly voted in favor of making the vaccine available to children in this age group.

According to the FDA, immune responses of children in this age category were comparable to those of individuals sixteen through twenty-five years of age. In addition, the vaccine was found to be 90.7% effective in preventing COVID-19 in children.

The vaccine’s safety was studied in approximately 3,100 children age five through eleven who received the vaccine and no serious side effects have been detected in the ongoing study.

Children will receive a separate vaccine formulation denoted with an orange cap, and will receive the vaccine with a smaller needle.

The vaccine for children is administered as a two-dose primary series, three weeks apart, and is a lower dose (10 micrograms) than that used for individuals twelve years of age and older (30 micrograms).

Children between the ages of two and four years old, other unvaccinated children five years or older, and unvaccinated adults, should continue to wear a mask in public spaces and around people they do not live with.

Vaccines are now widely accessible at no cost, and the government continues to work toward making vaccines widely available for everyone.

All school vaccines and the Covid-19 vaccine can be given safely at the same visit.

The Grant County Health Department is now offering these vaccines to all kids five years and older.

For more information on the Covid-19 vaccines, go to cdc.gov and/or fda.gov.