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Children under 5 may be eligible for vaccines by President’s Day, Colorado official says

By Seth Klamann February 10, 2022 | updated 4 years ago

Federal regulators are preparing to meet next week to discuss approving Pfizer’s vaccine for children as young as 6 months old, and a top Colorado health official said Thursday that doses could begin being distributed here within the next two weeks.

The only Americans not approved to receive vaccines are those under the age of 5. But that could soon change: A federal advisory panel will meet Tuesday, and Pfizer’s CEO told CNBC this week that the “(chances) are very high” that the dose — lower than that used on adults — will be approved imminently.

Colorado is preparing for that to come at some point in February and potentially as early as President’s Day, said Scott Bookman, Colorado’s COVID-19 incident commander. 

“We’re working with all of our providers to encourage them to order this very specific vaccine for this age group,” he told reporters at a news conference Thursday, “and we are incredibly excited for yet another part of our population — now almost everyone — being eligible to get a vaccine that is so effective.”

Vaccines have been available for children between the ages of 5 and 11 since November. Though the state set a goal of inoculating 50% of that population by the end of January, uptake has begun to lag: As of Wednesday, just 38% of that age group are partially vaccinated, and 30.2% are fully inoculated.

Despite that, Colorado remains above the national average for those school-aged children. As of last week, just 20% of kids ages 5 to 11 and just over half of 12- to 17-year-olds were fully vaccinated, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Nearly three-quarters of adults are fully vaccinated.

While COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children, the omicron wave has caused record numbers of child hospitalizations. Children’s Hospital Colorado told The Denver Gazette last month that it was seeing record numbers of COVID-19 patients, and Colorado children had the highest rates of infection at various points during both the delta and omicron waves.

Doses for children under the age of 5 are one-tenth the size of that used in adults, which is even smaller than 5- to 11-year-olds. These newest vaccines will have to be specially packaged to ensure no mix ups.

There have been some recent complications. In December, Pfizer announced a setback: Preliminary study results showed two of the extra-low doses appeared strong enough to protect babies but weren’t strong enough for 2- to 4-year-olds. The company added a third shot to the study, but results are not expected until late March.

Still, the Food and Drug Administration took the highly unusual step of urging Pfizer to apply now for a two-dose series with potentially a third shot added later. During the FDA advisory committee meeting next week, the public will get its first look at any new evidence of whether two extra-low doses are working better than initially expected among the preschoolers.

There are no plans to test the vaccine in newborns. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Seth Klamann

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