If there’s one thing parents of young children have been waiting for with bated breath throughout the ups and downs (let’s be real: mostly downs) of the pandemic, it’s word of when we’ll finally have vaccine authorized for their kids aged five years and under — particularly as the Omicron variant has seen a surge in pediatric COVID-19 cases in early 2022. And, per reports from multiple outlets, that day is finally within view as Pfizer-Biotech prepare to submit a request for emergency use authorization for five-and-under their two dose vaccine as early as Tuesday.
The Pfizer vaccine, which has previously been authorized for kids as young as age five, had previously had its trial extended when researchers found that two doses for children (at three micrograms a dose) weren’t producing the desired immune response in kids aged two to five — while it did work for babies between six months and two years.
“If the goal of the vaccine is to get baseline immunity in the kids — to prevent really bad outcomes and you’re really not using the vaccine as a tool to prevent infection in the first place — two doses could do that,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner and current Pfizer board member, told CBS on Sunday. “I think that may be why federal health officials are rethinking this.”
While December’s announcement of adding an additional dose to prevent infection meant that the submission might be delayed, the emergency authorization of the two-dose regimen could still prepare kids between 2-5 to get a third dose once the data becomes clear on its efficacy.
“The study will now include evaluating a third dose of 3 [micrograms] at least two months after the second dose of the two-dose series to provide high levels of protection in this young age group,” the companies said in a
statement back in December.Though the
consensus from experts appears to be that the data on the third shot will be useful but isn’t entirely necessary to begin the process of vaccinating younger children and building up their immunity.
“By now they probably have more information on whether the two shots provided any protection at all,” Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the University of California San Francisco Department of Medicine, told NPR. “It seems likely the third shot will be necessary … but you can’t get shot #3 until you’ve [had] shots 1 and 2.”
Before you go, check out the best cough and cold remedies for kids that are all natural: 
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