A month after the US Food and Drug Administration delayed key steps toward authorizing Covid-19 vaccines for children under 5, many parents are more eager for the shots than ever.
Dr. Daniel Leonard, a pediatric hospitalist who is working on the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine trial for these kids, said people are driving in from several states away to take part."We're here in south central Nebraska, and while many may not think that this would be the epicenter of scientific progress, the influx that I've had with people from Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa -- some driving eight or nine hours each way overnight to participate in the study," he said.
Initially, the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine for this age group was being tested with just two doses, but the results weren't what scientists had hoped for and the companies said they would test a third dose. But at the request of the FDA, the companies submitted a request for an emergency use authorization of two doses of the vaccine and said they would continue to test a third doses as the two doses moved through the regulatory process.
n mid-February, the plan changed again. Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said the agency needed to see data from an ongoing trial of a third vaccine dose in these younger children in order to move forward with emergency use authorization. A February 15 meeting of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee was delayed. Families would have to wait for the third-dose data after all.
In the meantime, he urged parents to keep taking Covid-19 precautions: Make sure everyone around the child is vaccinated and rely on"masking procedures," although that' has become more difficult as mask mandates fall. As soon as the FDA gets the necessary data to make a decision about vaccines for younger children, Marks said, it will proceed"very rapidly."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Covid-19: No new Covid-related deaths and 509 in hospitalThe total number of deaths linked to the virus reported by Stormont's Department of Health is 3,265.
Read more »
US Health Secretary Becerra warns of COVID-19 funds shortage as virus rebounds in Europe, AsiaOmicron variant BA.2, which is causing a virus rebound in Europe and Asia, is gaining ground in the U.S.
Read more »
US Health Secretary Becerra warns of COVID-19 funds shortage as virus rebounds in Europe, AsiaBecerra also expressed concerns about cases rising among children as schools lift mask requirements.
Read more »
World's happiest countries for 2022 amid war, COVID-19 — see where US ranksFinland was named the world’s happiest country for the 5th straight year, according to the 2022 World Happiness Report. It also found an increase in global benevolence.
Read more »
Ohio reports 3,605 COVID-19 in last week cases: weekly coronavirus update for Thursday, March 17Last week, the state announced that it was changing its daily updates to the COVID-19 dashboard to weekly updates on Thursdays. This past week's total averages to 515 new cases per day, over seven days.
Read more »
Looking for COVID-19, Dallas is helping the CDC test your sewageTwice a week at Dallas’ Central Wastewater Treatment Plant in east Oak Cliff, workers use an empty milk jug tied to a string to pull a 250 mililiter sample...
Read more »