FDA advisers review Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MATTHEW PERRONE
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health advisers are deliberating whether kid-size doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine are safe and effective in young children. Tuesday’s meeting of the Food and Drug Administration panel is the first step toward expanding vaccinations to 28 million young children ages 5 to 11. If regulators agree, shots could begin early next month — using a third of the dose given to teens and adults. A study found kid-size vaccinations are nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infection. One question is whether younger kids will face a rare heart side effect that occasionally occurs in teen boys and young men.