Pfizer and BioNTech are planning to ask the FDA for approval to administer pediatric doses of their COVID-19 mRNA jab to children ages 5 years to 11. The vaccine makers are basing their request on a study of 2,200 children.
If approved, about 28 million children would then be eligible for the shots, which contain lower doses than the ones already being given to older children and adults. However, as noted by The New York Times, it isn’t clear how many of that 28 million would actually get the shots.
Presently, only 42% of older children, ages 12 to 15, have taken them. Parents who were polled gave various reasons for their children not getting them, including questioning the small size of the children’s trial.
Also, as the NYT pointed out, “studies have shown that unvaccinated children who contract the coronavirus tend not to get seriously ill, leading some parents to wonder whether the potential risks of a new vaccine outweigh the benefits.”
SOURCE: The New York Times September 28, 2021