On Monday, multinational pharmaceutical company Pfizer said its two-dose Covid vaccine works for children between the ages of 5 and 11. The company now plans to seek authorisation from regulatory agencies in the United States.
In the Caribbean, vaccine hesitancy remains an issue and on Monday, Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Energy Industries, Stuart Young called on parents to have their teenage kids vaccinated so that they could be sent back out to school. The minister said his children had been vaccinated.
If regulatory review of Pfizer’s two dose vaccine for children under 12 goes well, this age group could start getting the shot very soon. There is however no sure timeframe for which this regulation would be approved.
Pfizer announced two other age brackets from the trial ― children ages 2-5 years and children 6 months to 2 years old are expected as soon as the fourth quarter of this year.
Researchers are said to be testing a lower dose of the two shots than 5- to 11-year-olds received.