US Health Authorities May Approve Pfizer Vaccine for Ages 5-11 Next Month

Major Foreign Media and Insider Reports Cited

COVID-19 vaccine placed in front of the Pfizer logo (London AFP=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] U.S. health authorities are expected to approve the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children under 12 years old in October.

Major foreign media, including the U.S. economic outlet CNBC, reported on the 11th (local time), citing two sources familiar with the situation, that senior U.S. health officials believe approval to use the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 will be granted by the end of next month.

This schedule is based on the expectation that Pfizer will secure sufficient clinical trial data to request emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for this age group by the end of this month, according to the sources.

According to the report, officials expect the FDA to make a decision within three weeks after Pfizer's application on whether the vaccine is safe and effective for children.

One source said that Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, outlined the timeline during an online town hall meeting attended by National Institutes of Health (NIH) staff the day before.

He stated that if Pfizer submits the emergency use authorization application by the end of September and the clinical data supports it, Pfizer's product is likely to be ready by mid to late October. Another source said the FDA expects a similar timeline for Pfizer.

Dr. Fauci also estimated that Moderna will take about three weeks longer than Pfizer to collect and analyze data for children aged 5 to 11, and a decision on Moderna's vaccine could come around November.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.