![]() Given that children can transmit the virus and that there are 28 million children aged 5-11 in the US, it will be important to also vaccinate them so that we can decrease the level of transmission in the community. We also know that during a time when Delta is the dominant variant, we will need a high level of immunity in the community to decrease transmission. ![]() The Brink: How much are children aged 5-11 currently contributing to the spread of COVID in the US? What effect will vaccinating this group have on life in America?Īssoumou: Recent data during the Delta wave showed that children can get infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and that they can transmit it. In addition to pediatric offices, vaccines will also be available at hospitals, health centers, and some community sites. We also have experience from prior vaccination efforts showing that vaccinating children in pediatric offices has been successful. The Brink: Why will the vaccines be rolled out differently-through pediatric offices-instead of mass inoculation sites like we saw for adults?Īssoumou: The White House is shifting the approach for 5- to 11-year-olds, because there are data showing that parents often prefer to have their children vaccinated in locations that they are familiar with and with clinicians who are trusted messengers. One-third of the adult dose was shown to be safe and provide a robust immune response for 5- to 11-year-olds. The main difference between the vaccine given to individuals older than 12 years and the one currently being evaluated for 5- to 11-year-olds is that a lower dose will be used for the younger children. Q &A With Sabrina Assoumou The Brink: How do the vaccines for 5- to 11-year-olds differ from vaccines for older kids (12 years and up) and adults?Īssoumou: The vaccine currently being evaluated by the FDA and CDC for 5- to 11-year-olds uses the same technology. She is also an attending physician at Boston Medical Center, BU’s primary teaching hospital and the city of Boston’s safety-net hospital. To learn more about the scaled-down vaccine for kids and how it will impact the overall dynamics of the ongoing pandemic, The Brink reached out to Boston University infectious disease specialist Sabrina Assoumou, a BU School of Medicine assistant professor of medicine. With the school year well underway, and holiday travel just around the corner, the rollout of pediatric doses could come just in the nick of time to stave off more infections this winter. ![]() The FDA is expected to meet and discuss an emergency authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds on Tuesday, October 26, opening the door for an FDA ruling and CDC recommendation to be in place by early November. Rather than rely on the mass inoculation sites that got shots into the arms of adults and kids aged 12 and up, officials say the rollout plan for vaccinating 5- to 11-year-olds will take place in 25,000 pediatric or primary care offices across the United States. The White House announced that it’s expected the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will soon approve and recommend a scaled-down version of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for pediatric use. Some 28 million Americans still aren’t eligible for coronavirus vaccines-elementary school–aged kids between the ages of 5 and 11-but on Wednesday, Biden administration officials announced that’s poised to change in a matter of days.
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