A booster shot of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech increased the level of neutralizing antibodies against both the original version of the virus and the omicron variant in a small trial of children age 5 to 11, the companies announced on Thursday.
The children showed a sixfold increase in antibody levels against the original version of the virus one month after receiving the booster, compared with one month after receiving a second dose. Laboratory tests of blood samples from a subgroup of 30 children also showed 36 times the level of neutralizing antibodies against the omicron variant compared with levels after only two doses, according to the news release and a Pfizer spokeswoman.
The companies said they would ask the Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization of a booster for 5- to 11-year-olds “in the coming days.” The agency has typically acted within a month of receiving such requests. “I think a bottom line is that in order to protect from the omicron, we know from studies and from adults and adolescents that you need three doses,” said Dr. Kathryn M. Edwards, a pediatric vaccine expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “So I think the FDA will likely approve the third dose for the 5- to 11-year-olds.”
Several hundred children age 5 to 11 have died of COVID since the pandemic began, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but pediatric shots have been a hard sell for many parents. Only about 28% of children in that age group have received two doses and would be eligible for a booster. Roughly 7% have received just one dose, the agency’s data shows.
“The problem is that we can’t predict who is going to get sick and who is not,” she said. And among those who do, “there will be kids that are going to be hospitalized, and there will be a few deaths.”