US health officials have predicted that Pfizer’s vaccine may be approved for children ages 5 to 11 by the end of next month.
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Officials came up with the estimation based on expectations that the drug company will have enough data to support an Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration as reported by the New York Post. A decision by regulators will be made three weeks after a submission is made for approval.
Dr. Fauci also spoke of a similar prediction during a town hall meeting with colleagues at the National Institutes of Health. “By the time we get to October, the first couple of weeks of October… the Pfizer product will likely be ready,” he said during the conference.
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As previously reported, the decision was made as coronavirus cases with the Delta variant continue to surge throughout the United States. The company previously announced that they will add a booster shot to fight the variant.
‘As seen in real-world evidence released from the Israel Ministry of Health, vaccine efficacy has declined six months post-vaccination, at the same time that the Delta variant is becoming the dominate variant in the country,’`
Currently, children age 12 and older are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine while Moderna was only approved for adults 18 and older.