Much to the excitement of virtually everyone, it looks like the COVID-19 pandemic will soon become a memory. With the final stage of vaccines on the horizon, children will be able to get their shots once they schedule an appointment . According to NPR, on October 17, 2021, Pfizer-BioNTech completed its clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine, which produced data on the safety and effectiveness of the medicine, and asked the FDA for emergency approval. The FDA moved to recommend the vaccine on October 26, 2021 by method of an advisory panel, and the vaccine got the green light to begin inoculations at the beginning of November. According to ABC, more than 8,000 children in the United States have received a shot by November 8, 2021.
Before requesting approval for the vaccine, Pfizer conducted a three step clinical trial. According to NPR, the main study included 2,250 children and found that “a lower dose version of the vaccine was 90.7% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19.” Very few instances of health problems arose, leading many scientists to believe in the safety of the vaccine, and that the good outweighed the bad when it came to its administration. These reasons made many analysts sure that the vote of the FDA would be in favor of the vaccine release for young children.
The holdup has mainly been the lineup of trial groups. Adults, especially senior citizens, have been prioritized in the research department due to the severe effects that the coronavirus has on them. Study groups including the elderly, adults, pregnant women, and adolescents all had to be conducted before children could be studied. Additionally, Dr. David Lo, a professor and vaccine expert at the University of California, says that many research companies had a difficult time recruiting children for their studies, and ended up only being able to work with a fraction of the amount of test subjects compared to those of the adult vaccine trials.
NBC News recognizes another small issue with the vaccine- children’s fear of needles. In order to prepare a little sibling or friend for their shot, NBC recommends talking a child through the process first, and then using distraction and celebration to an advantage during the appointment. Hopefully, this development will grant some peace to concerned older siblings and caretakers, and could provide one of the last pieces needed to solve the puzzle of the pandemic.
Comentários