Covid-19: FDA advisors recommend corona vaccines for smaller children

Covid-19
FDA advisors recommend corona vaccines for smaller children

An advisory panel to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advocated the use of coronavirus vaccines in children between the ages of six months and five years.

Both the vaccine from the manufacturers Biontech and Pfizer and the preparation from Moderna could be used for this, the committee unanimously judged after hours of discussion.

The result of the vote is not binding for the FDA, but the authority usually follows the assessment of the consultants. The CDC has yet to agree. This could soon start vaccinations against the corona virus in this age group in the USA. The US government said a few days ago that it was expected from June 21st.

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach welcomed the US Food and Drug Administration’s recommendation. “This is good news for parents,” wrote the SPD politician on Twitter.

Biontech/Pfizer’s vaccine is currently approved in the US for children ages five to 11, and Moderna’s vaccine for people ages 18 and older. On Tuesday, however, the FDA advisory committee had already spoken out in favor of approving Moderna’s vaccine for children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 17.

There is currently no corona vaccine approved for very young children in the EU. The European Medicines Agency EMA in Amsterdam is currently examining whether the vaccine from the manufacturer Moderna (Spikevax) can also be approved for children under the age of six. Such a test has not yet started for the vaccine from the manufacturers Biontech and Pfizer. According to the EMA, the manufacturers have not yet submitted a corresponding application for an extension of the approval.

dpa