Pfizer announces breakthrough in COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 and 11

Pharmaceutical giants, Pfizer on Monday, September 20 announced it had finished carrying out research on its covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

Pfizer said the younger children who took the kiddie dose vaccine (a smaller does of the vaccine given to adults) developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teenagers and young adults

The announcement is a major step towards winning official approval for younger children to get vaccinated against the deadly virus.

Pfizer in it's Monday statement said it will now seek authorization from the federal Food & Drug Administration.

Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer official also said the vaccine proved very safe, with similar or fewer temporary side effects as older kids and grown-ups experience.

“I think we really hit the sweet spot,” said Gruber, who’s also a pediatrician.

Gruber said Pfizer aims to apply to the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the month for emergency use in this age group, followed shortly afterward with applications to European and British regulators.

If the vaccine is approved by the feds, it would add 28 million children to the rolls of those eligible to be vaccinated.

So far, only adolescents 12 and older have been approved to be vaccinated in the U.S.

While kids are at lower risk of severe illness or death than older people, more than 5 million children in the U.S. have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began and at least 460 have died, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.