4 News Now Q&A: When will a COVID vaccine be available for younger kids?

Q: When will a COVID vaccine be available for younger kids?

A: Health experts say it is going to be months, if not longer. It is not as simple as giving available adult doses to younger people.

Both Pfizer and Moderna are currently doing clinical trials to see how their vaccines work on kids in this age group — to see if they are safe, and figure out what the right dose should be.

Pfizer’s vaccine study is enrolling more than 4,600 children in thee age groups: 5- to 11-year-olds, 2- to 5-year-olds and babies as young as 6 months. Data for children 5 to 11 could come sometime in September, and depending on the findings, the company could ask the FDA to authorize emergency use of the vaccine that same month. For the youngest children, Pfizer said it will potentially get data in October or November, and ask the FDA to authorize emergency use shortly after.

Moderna’s vaccine study is enrolling about 6,700 children from 6 months to 11-years-old. But the company’s timeline for data results is not clear at this point.

We do know emergency use discussions within the FDA can take several weeks. So a vaccine for younger children likely will not be available until late fall or even next year.

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