Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) has announced that its COVID-19 vaccine induced a robust immune response in five- to 11-year-olds, and that it plan to seek authorization to use the vaccine in children within Canada, the U.S. and Europe as soon as possible.
Pfizer said the vaccine generated an immune response in five- to 11-year-olds in their Phase III clinical trial that matched what they had previously observed in 16- to 25-year-olds. The safety profile was also comparable to the older age group, the company said.
Pfizer said it plans to file the data with Health Canada and seek approval to use the vaccine in children across the country. Health Canada has already approved the Pfizer-BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) COVID-19 vaccine for people as young as 12 years old.
Health Canada has said that all manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines authorized in Canada are conducting or planning studies in adolescents and young children, including children from six months to 11 years of age.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths have surged in the U.S. in recent months due to the highly contagious Delta variant. Pediatric cases are also up, particularly as children under 12 are all unvaccinated, but there is no indication that, beyond being more transmissive, the Delta strain is more dangerous in children.
