Trinidad and Tobago will not yet act on the approval of COVID vaccines for children below twelve.
So says Chief Epidemiological Officer, Dr Avery Hinds.
Speaking at today’s COVID media briefing, Dr Hinds explained the Government’s actions and policies will instead be guided by World Health authorities.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children aged five to eleven years, making it the first COVID-19 shot for young children in the United States.
Pfizer and BioNTech said their vaccine showed 90.7% efficacy against the coronavirus in a clinical trial of children aged 5 to 11.
The FDA authorized a 10-microgram dose of Pfizer’s vaccine in young children, lower than the 30 micrograms in the original vaccine for those aged 12 and older.
Advisers on the FDA panel said a lower dose could help mitigate some of the rare side effects after paying close attention to the rate of heart inflammation, or myocarditis, which has been linked to both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, especially in young men.
The regulator said on Friday that known and potential benefits of the Pfizer vaccine in individuals aged between 5 and 11 outweigh the risks.
Dr Hinds suggested that all these considerations must be further put to the test before an international position is arrived upon regarding the data and the vaccine for children under 12.
Only a few other countries, including China, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates, have so far cleared COVID-19 vaccines for children in this age group and younger.
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