Pfizer and BioNTech have officially requested that the U.S. Government allow children ages 5 to 11 to be given its Covid-19 vaccine, Pizer announced in a Tweet this morning.
If the Federal Drug Administration approves its application children could begin getting immunized within the month, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Pfizer reported last month that company data showed its Covid-19 vaccine to be safe and effective in children ages 5 to 11. The FDA will convene a panel of experts to debate the evidence on Oct. 26.
Younger children given two doses — each a third the strength of adult doses — develop the same virus-fighting antibody levels as older people who were given full doses of the vaccine, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Although children are at lower risk of severe illness or death than adults, children’s cases have risen sharply since the return to school this fall amid the more contagious delta variant.