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‘This is amazing’: Boston doctor reacts to major development in COVID-19 vaccines for young kids

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A Boston doctor is calling the latest development from Pfizer regarding COVID-19 vaccines for young children welcome news.Pfizer announced Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for kids aged 5 to 11.Children are at lower risk of severe illness or death from the coronavirus, but pediatric COVID-19 cases have risen since the delta variant began sweeping the United States.According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than 5 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 and 460 have died of the virus.Dr. Vandana Madhavan, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, hopes the latest news from Pfizer means that children may be able to start getting vaccinated against the coronavirus in a matter of weeks.”This is amazing. We’ve always known that (the vaccines) are safe and effective. Now, we have the optimal dose,” Madhavan said. “So let’s be a little more patient and once they’re rolled out, let’s have systems in place to get our kids vaccinated.”Pfizer used a much lower COVID-19 vaccine dose, just a third of the amount adults receive, when testing its vaccine on children ages 5 to 11. According to the company, the young kids developed similar antibody levels as adults and teenagers after receiving their second dose.Two sisters from New England, 11-year-old Ella and 9-year-old Fiona, participated in clinical trials for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at Velocity Clinical Research in Warwick, Rhode Island. Both of them received two doses of the shot, but they may have received a placebo.The girls’ father, Dr. Mark Zonfrillo, is a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence.“Seeing kids come into the hospital with the increased activity of COVID, I thought it was really important for them to be involved in the trial,” he told WJAR.Pfizer now hopes to apply for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the month. FDA officials have said once the data is submitted, it could authorize a vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 in a matter of weeks.

A Boston doctor is calling the latest development from Pfizer regarding COVID-19 vaccines for young children welcome news.

Pfizer announced Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for kids aged 5 to 11.

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Children are at lower risk of severe illness or death from the coronavirus, but pediatric COVID-19 cases have risen since the delta variant began sweeping the United States.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than 5 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 and 460 have died of the virus.

Dr. Vandana Madhavan, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, hopes the latest news from Pfizer means that children may be able to start getting vaccinated against the coronavirus in a matter of weeks.

“This is amazing. We’ve always known that (the vaccines) are safe and effective. Now, we have the optimal dose,” Madhavan said. “So let’s be a little more patient and once they’re rolled out, let’s have systems in place to get our kids vaccinated.”

Pfizer used a much lower COVID-19 vaccine dose, just a third of the amount adults receive, when testing its vaccine on children ages 5 to 11.

According to the company, the young kids developed similar antibody levels as adults and teenagers after receiving their second dose.

Two sisters from New England, 11-year-old Ella and 9-year-old Fiona, participated in clinical trials for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at Velocity Clinical Research in Warwick, Rhode Island. Both of them received two doses of the shot, but they may have received a placebo.

The girls’ father, Dr. Mark Zonfrillo, is a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence.

“Seeing kids come into the hospital with the increased activity of COVID, I thought it was really important for them to be involved in the trial,” he told WJAR.

Pfizer now hopes to apply for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the month. FDA officials have said once the data is submitted, it could authorize a vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 in a matter of weeks.

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