Now that the COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for children over the age of five, researchers are looking into the timeline for children as young as six months.
As a mom of two young girls, Kimberly Pullen was eagerly waiting for the FDA’s approval of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, for children five to 11-years-old.
She said her two-year-old will get the vaccine too, once it’s approved.
“Hasn't had any major reactions to any of the other vaccinations she's received up until this point, including her flu vaccination. I have zero hesitation with getting her vaccinated as soon as it’s approved for her age group,” Pullen said.
Pfizer is testing the COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 2-5 and 6 months to 2 years. Doctors explain the vaccine would be two doses of a much smaller amount.
“What they’re looking for children under five is three micrograms per dose of the vaccine,” said Dr. Juan Dumois, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
Dumois said we won’t know how safe the COVID-19 vaccine for babies will be until the study is complete, but in general, he says vaccinating children under five is safe.
“Routine vaccinations for children are started at birth with the Hepatitis B vaccine and for most of the other vaccines they’re started either 2 months of age or 12 months of age,” he said.
While children are less susceptible to severe COVID-19, they can spread the virus.
“The more people in the country who get vaccinated the better chance we have of achieving herd immunity that will eventually end the pandemic,” Dumois said.
Pfizer expects to apply for approval from the FDA for their COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months to 5 years old in November.