Dec 3, 2021 - Health

Pfizer could have vaccine data for children under five by end of 2021, CEO says

Shawna Chen

Photo of a health care worker administering a vaccine shot to a young child — A health care worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine to a child at a Salvation Army vaccination clinic in Philadelphia on Nov. 12. Photo: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Pfizer could have data on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy for children under five by the end of the year, CEO Albert Bourla said on Friday in an interview with NBC News.

Why it matters: Omicron has raised concerns that young children are becoming more vulnerable to the virus. Tshwane, the epicenter of South Africa's Omicron outbreak, has seen a high number of hospital admissions for children under two in the last few weeks, though scientists have not confirmed a link to the variant, Reuters reports.

What they're saying: "We have a study in children 6 months to 2 years and then another cohort of children 2 to 5 years," Bourla said. "So [by] end of the year, beginning of next year, when we see the data, we will know more."

Moderna is also testing its vaccine among children, though it's unclear when the data will become available, according to NBC News.

Worth noting: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration 0n Friday authorized the emergency use of Eli Lilly's COVID antibody therapy treatment for children under 12 who test positive and are at risk of severe illness.

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Pfizer could have vaccine data for children under five by end of 2021, CEO says

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