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Children As Young As 12 To Get Inoculated With Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine In The US

Children As Young As 12 To Get Inoculated With Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine In The US

FDA has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use in adolescents aged 12-16. Here's what you need to know.

Written by Arushi Bidhuri |Updated : May 12, 2021 9:13 AM IST

The impact of Covid-19 has spurred the world to develop new vaccines to help control the pandemic. So far, adults were being administered the vaccines, but now the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Monday authorized the emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 in adolescents. Now, kids aged 12-15 will be administered the vaccine to prevent Covid-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2. Clearing the use of Pfizer vaccine in young tens in the US paves way for the mass vaccination in middle and high school student before the next school year begins.

According to the report published on the website of FDA, the Pfizer vaccine met all the statutory criteria to allow emergency use authorization (EUA) among children 12 years of age. It was found that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the potential risks reported so far, which makes the vaccine suitable for adolescents.

Side Effects Adolescents Experienced After Getting Pfizer Covid Vaccine

To determine the efficacy of the vaccine, 2,260 individuals between the ages of 12 and 15 were enrolled in ongoing randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials in the US. While 1,131 adolescents' participants received the coronavirus vaccine, 1,129 individuals received a saline placebo. After the second dose of the vaccine, the team followed the participants for at least two months. During this time, most adolescents reported symptoms, such as pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, chills, muscle pain, fever, and joint pain, which lasted 1-3 days. Except for pain at the injected site, more adolescents reported the other side effects only after the second dose of the vaccine. Participants over the age of 16 and older showed the same side effects in the clinical trials.

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FDA shed light on the fact that people are prone to experience some side effects after getting vaccinated, but they may vary from one individual to another. Not every individual's experience will be the same, and some people may not experience any side effects.

FDA stressed that people with a history of a severe allergic reaction, including anaphylaxis, should not be given the vaccine shot.

How Prominent Is Covid Infection In Adolescents In The US?

Reports suggest that Covid cases in adolescents are milder, but they can still spread the disease. In fact, kids' cases are responsible for a growing proportion of the coronavirus cases as more adults in the US gets vaccinated. According to experts, expanding the access of the vaccines to younger individuals may help curb the fats-spreading variant and help people get back to normal soon. While the vaccine is believed to be safe so far for adolescents, more studies are exploring the use of these vaccines in adolescents.

The US gave authorization for those age 16 and above to get the Pfizer shot. Meanwhile, Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson were authorized for use in individuals aged 18 and above. The pfizer-BioNTech vaccine also got a heads up in Canada for adolescents as young as 12.

(with inputs from IANS)