A US expert committee issued a recommendation to administer COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna laboratories to children between six months and four years old, a first step towards their authorization.
During live webcast discussions, members of this advisory panel reviewed data from available clinical trials, which Pfizer conducted in children ages six months to 4 years and Moderna in children ages six months to 5 years. This is the last age group that still does not have access to this immunization.
In two votes, the 21 experts unanimously considered that the benefits of vaccinating this group outweigh the risks, according to the AFP agency.
Based on these favorable opinions, the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) could give its official authorization soon.
After that, about 10 million doses would be sent immediately to different regions of the country, followed by millions more in the following weeks, the US government reported.
Many experts highlighted that children would not be well protected with two doses of Pfizer and will have to wait for three - therefore months - before doing so.
Both vaccines are safe and effective, according to the FDA, which released its own analysis of the clinical trials last week to provide a basis for debate for experts.
Dosage
-Children will be given doses that are one quarter of those given to adults for the Moderna vaccine (25 micrograms instead of 100), and one tenth of those given to adults for the Moderna vaccine (3 micrograms instead of 30).
-The main difference between the two products is the number of injections necessary for immunization. The Moderna vaccine will continue to be administered in two doses, one month apart. While that of Pfizer-BioNTech will be in three applications: the first two three weeks apart and the third, eight weeks after the second.
Specific details
-According to a preliminary estimate, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 80% effective against symptomatic forms of the disease. But this figure is based on a very small number of positive cases, the FDA clarified. While the modern immunizer Moderna is 51% effective in babies from six months to less than 2 years old and 37% effective in children from two to five years old.
-Regarding side effects, a quarter of the children who received the Moderna dose had fever, especially after the second dose. But the symptom subsided after a day. In the case of Pfizer, the fever observed was similar between those who were vaccinated and those who received a placebo during the trial.
