Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Pfizer Asks FDA To Authorize Its Covid Shot For Kids Under 5
Pfizer-BioNTech said Wednesday that it asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months to 4 years — the only group that remains ineligible for vaccination. The request will be now considered by the FDA, which will review the data and could grant emergency use authorization for the age group later this month. The FDA’s advisory group, called the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, is scheduled to convene on June 15 to offer guidance on the pediatric doses. (Lovelace Jr., 6/1)
The FDA said in a statement that it received Pfizer's request for an EUA. "We recognize parents are anxious to have their young children vaccinated against COVID-19 and while the FDA cannot predict how long its evaluation of the data and information will take, we will review any EUA request we receive as quickly as possible using a science-based approach," the agency said. (Kekatos, 6/1)
In other news on the vaccine rollout —
According to research published yesterday in the American Journal of Roentgenology, chest computed tomography (CT) scans of adults fully vaccinated against COVID-19 were less likely to show pneumonia frequency and severity during breakthrough infections, compared to unvaccinated patients. (6/1)
Three COVID-19 vaccine doses offer good protection against infection and hospitalization, including those caused by variants of concern—regardless of brand, type, or combination, according to an ongoing meta-analysis published yesterday in BMJ. (6/1)
