Pfizer said Monday its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11 and that it will be seeking US authorization for this age group soon.
The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech is already available for anyone 12 and older, but with kids back in school and the delta variant causing massive jumps in pediatric infections, many parents anxiously anticipate vaccination for their younger children.
For elementary school-aged kids, Pfizer tested a much lower dose — a third of the amount that’s in each shot given now. Yet after their second dose, children ages 5 to 11 developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teenagers and young adults getting the regular-strength shots, Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer senior vice president, told The Associated Press.