COVID-19 vaccines may very well be made accessible to children aged as younger as 5 in Canada within the coming months.
Pfizer formally submitted a request to Well being Canada on Monday, looking for authorization for using its photographs in kids aged 5 to 11 years outdated.
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In an announcement, Well being Canada mentioned it’s going to solely give the inexperienced gentle after an intensive overview of the information to ensure the advantages of the photographs outweigh any potential dangers for this age group.
Whereas Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine targets the identical virus, SARS-CoV-2, there are some notable variations for adults and children, in line with the drug maker.
The pediatric doses are one-third (10 micrograms) the dimensions given to adults and teenagers aged 12 and older (30 mcg).
If authorised, every vial will include 10 doses for the youthful age group, mentioned Christina Antoniou, director of company affairs at Pfizer Canada.
That is totally different than the six doses per vial presently getting used for adults and adolescents in Canada.
The youngsters’ vaccines will even have a singular label and totally different color for the cap.
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The variations in presentation and dosage are usually not uncommon, consultants say, as has been the case for different vaccines.
“This may not be the primary time that we truly see {that a} vaccine must be dosed otherwise and even packaged otherwise for youngsters,” mentioned Dr. Shaheen Suleman, a pediatrician at Unity Well being Toronto.
Nonetheless, the formulation of the vaccine itself is similar, Antoniou confirmed to International Information in an emailed assertion.
Drawing up pediatric doses from the present vials for the adults is just not beneficial “for a lot of causes”, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public well being officer, mentioned throughout a information convention Friday.
A spokesperson for Well being Canada mentioned the company will inform Canadians of acceptable particulars as soon as its overview is accomplished.
Youngsters additionally bear three phases of the vaccine trials, however the pattern measurement is just not as giant.
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As a result of the efficacy of vaccines has already been examined in large-scale scientific trials among the many grownup inhabitants, the identical steps are usually not wanted for youngsters.
As a part of its trial, Pfizer and BioNTech mentioned their knowledge confirmed a robust immune response amongst 2,268 kids ages 5 to 11.
Information confirmed the two-shot mRNA vaccine generated an immune response that matched what was noticed in these aged 16 to 25.
Whereas the federal authorities has a contract with Pfizer that features pediatric photographs, Ottawa is just not but saying how briskly they’ll arrive, if and when the under-12 Pfizer vaccine will get the inexperienced gentle from Well being Canada.
— with recordsdata from International Information’ Abigail Bimman.
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