UK approves Covid vaccinations for babies: Medical watchdog says that lower-dose Pfizer jabs are safe
UK approves Covid vaccines for BABIES: medical watchdog says lower dose of Pfizer jab safe and effective for children 6 months and older
- A low dose of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine has been approved for children under five in the UK
- The drug regulator said it meets safety, quality and effectiveness standards
- Vaccine advisors can now choose whether to give the shot to babies
Pfizer’s Covid vaccine was approved in the UK for babies six months to four years old, the drug regulator confirmed today.
A low dose meets safety, quality and effectiveness standards and does not raise new safety concerns in the cohort, according to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The decision opens the door for the country’s vaccine advisers to choose whether to give the shot to children under five as part of the country’s vaccination strategy.
However, this is not expected to happen due to concerns that the benefits may not outweigh the risks. Children rarely become seriously ill from the coronavirus and the majority are said to be already infected.
EU health chiefs today approved Covid vaccines for babies, in a move likely to spark controversy. The Bloc’s drug watchdog gave the go-ahead for kids over six months old to get the Pfizer or Moderna jab
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests that the number of Covid infections rose 7.9 percent in the week to November 21 after four weeks of decline. Surveillance data, based on random sampling of thousands of people, shows 873,200 people were carrying the virus, up from 809,200 a week earlier
Meanwhile, on November 30, 4,964 people who tested positive were in hospital beds, eight percent more than the week before
The MHRA made the decision after reviewing data from an ongoing clinical trial in which 4,526 infants received a small dose of 3 micrograms of the vaccine.
In comparison, adults in Britain are given a dose that is 10 times stronger. Older children, who are allowed to be vaccinated in the UK, will receive a dose of up to 10 micrograms.
Lower doses are given to children to avoid complications such as myocarditis – the rare condition that scared health chiefs at the beginning of the pandemic.
The jab is given as three injections in the upper arm, with the first two doses given three weeks apart.
A third dose is given at least two months after the second.
The MHRA said the jab caused common side effects “consistent with what might be expected from a vaccine in this age group.”
The Commission on Human Medicines – a committee within the MHRA – approved the vaccine’s approval after reviewing the evidence.
Dozens of countries, including the US, China and Israel, are already providing vaccines to children under the age of five, despite massive backlash over the measures.
U.S. officials rolled out this version of Pfizer’s shot for the same age group earlier this year.
And EU regulators also approved the use of Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for children under five.
Despite fears of winter chaos, infection rates in EU countries are already starting to slow.
Outbreaks appear to have stalled in Germany, France and Italy, but the data is much less accurate due to fewer tests being conducted.
The number of cases is on the rise in Britain, the latest data shows.
