Advisors to US federal regulators are backing two COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as six months old, with the final decision to be watched closely by Australian health officials, along with parents eager to put pandemic concerns behind them.
The recommendations still need to be signed off by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control , however, authorities hope shots could start going into arms from next week.
"This means that kids can go and stay in daycare, do their normal activities, have play dates and have fun and visit elderly relatives without the same concerns [as] before.
Moderna said its vaccine was 51 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic infections in children between six months and two years old, and 37 per cent effective in children aged two to five.Peter Marks — who oversees the FDA's vaccines division — told the advisory meeting that children were still less likely to experience severe illness from COVID-19 than adults.
"Granted, it's a population that has been much less affected than the older population … but one, nonetheless, that has also been affected," he said. "Each child that's lost essentially fractures a family."While some parents are anxiously awaiting the opportunity to get their young kids vaccinated, many others are expected to hold off or decline the shots altogether.
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