FDA okays Pfizer, Moderna jabs for kids under five

WASHINGTON • The United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency authorisation yesterday for the use of Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines in the youngest children, the final age group awaiting immunisation in most countries.

The agency authorised Moderna's two-dose vaccine for children six months to five years old, and three doses of Pfizer's shots for those between six months and four years old.

There are 20 million children aged four and under in the US.

"Many parents, caregivers and clinicians have been waiting for a vaccine for younger children, and this action will help protect those down to six months of age," FDA chief Robert Califf said in a statement. "We expect the vaccines for younger children will provide protection from the most severe outcomes of Covid-19, such as hospitalisation and death," he said.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must now also recommend the vaccines before they are put into use - a final green light that will be given after a meeting of an advisory committee of experts that is expected to be held shortly.

But the US government has said that as soon as the FDA decision is made, 10 million doses could immediately be sent around the country, followed by millions more in subsequent weeks.

In trials involving thousands of children, they were found to cause similar levels of mild side effects as in older age groups and triggered similar levels of antibodies.

Efficacy against infection was higher for Pfizer, with the firm placing it at 80 per cent, versus Moderna's estimates of 51 per cent for children six months to two years old and 37 per cent for those aged two to five.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE