On Monday, Pfizer said that its vaccine is effective for children aged between five and eleven. The effectiveness of the vaccine is great news for younger children as schools have remained closed since March 2020. The educators said that remote learning was a ‘disastrous experiment’ and schools needed to return to their pre-pandemic conditions. Even when schools reopened this fall, the reopening was frantic and disorganised. 2000 schools across the country have been closed again due to virus outbreaks.
Studies show that online learning causes psychological consequences of isolation in children, which affects their learning abilities. The news from Pfizer that the vaccine is safe and effective for children, brings hope particularly to the parents and children suffering several difficulties of Zoom learning. The clinical trials for children under eleven and over five showed virtually no adverse effects and strong antibody responses.
Everyone expects Pfizer to submit the data for authorization from the US Food and Drugs Administration. This is a news that all parents have been waiting for, Dr. Leana Wen, the former health commissioner of Baltimore and a professor of emergency medicines at George Washington University says.
As the White House had prepared to roll out booster shot programs, authorisation of the kids vaccine make the process of school reopening faster. The FDA issued a statement earlier this year acknowledging the anxiety of parents about protecting their children amid pandemic, and requesting them to be patient with the regulatory process. The biggest concern of the regulators is the rare heart disorder called myocarditis. Reports say that the approval might be authorised by the end of October at the time of Halloween, but FDA has not shared any official information about the timing till now.
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