Cincinnati Children’s director thinks vaccines for kids 5+ could be available before school starts

The director of the Gamble Vaccine Research Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital said he wouldn’t be surprised if the FDA grants emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine to juveniles “in the next week or so.”

Dr. Robert Frenck believes that authorization to vaccinate kids age 12 and older will come soon, but also thinks by August or September that vaccines could be available for kids age 5 and older, which would be before many schools start back up for the fall.

>> Pfizer petitions FDA for approval to use COVID-19 vaccine on 12- to 15-year-old children

Frenck’s comments come as Pharmaceutical company Pfizer filed a request with the FDA to amend its emergency use authorization to allow it to be used on children aged 12 to 15 on Friday.

Currently, it’s allowed to be used by anyone age 16 and older.

“These requests are based on data from the pivotal Phase 3 trial in adolescents 12 to 15 years of age with or without prior evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection which demonstrated 100 percent efficacy and robust antibody response after vaccination with the COVID-19 vaccine,” the company said in a statement, CNN reported.

Late last month, Cincinnati Children’s began inoculating children ages 5 to 11 years old with the Pfizer vaccine as part of a dose-finding trial. The hospital said thousands of parents have asked about enrolling their children in the trials.

Nearly 340 children are participating in trials at the hospital and they expect more to join soon.

Cox Media Group