U.S. FDA reviews Pfizer & Moderna Covid 19 vaccines in young children

The US Food and Drug Administration's health experts are set to vote on whether the covid vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer and 'BioNTech' should be used on children between six months and five years. The health experts are expected to meet and vote on Wednesday.

Positive voting in favour of this matter would enable the US to expand its covid vaccination drive to include children aged from 6 months to 5 years. Notably, this is the last group among the US citizens who are yet to receive any covid vaccine dose.

The Food and Drug Administration would review the efficacy of the vaccines of Pfizer and Moderna separately. While Pfizer's vaccine is a three-dose shot for children between six months and four years, Moderna's two-dose jab is for children aged six months to five years.


Notably, FDA has already scrutinized the data from the clinical trials of both the companies' vaccines. Based on the results of the clinical trials, the drug regulator has found the vaccines effective and safe for children.

The panel of health experts includes infectious-disease scientists, physicians, and other health experts. The committee will be recommending the FDA over the use of the vaccines after voting. Although the panel's decisions are only advisory and not binding, the US health regulator generally accepts what the panel recommends.

If the panel recommends the use of the vaccine on children, FDA can grant authorization to the vaccines concerned in a few days.

Once FDA authorizes the use of the vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will chalk out the policy and procedure for the vaccination of children aged from six months to five years.

Meanwhile, a poll from Kaiser Family Foundation has indicated that only 18% of the parents surveyed wanted to get their children vaccinated immediately after FDA approves the vaccines, while 38% of the parents said that they would first wait and observe before taking any decision.