Israeli vaccine regulators may soon begin deliberations on approving the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine on children under five, according to a report by Yediot Aharanoth.
The Hebrew newspaper published a report Friday morning which cited senior Israeli health officials, who said that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will likely reach a decision on SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for children ages six months to four years on the 15th of February.
The Israeli Health Ministry’s coronavirus taskforce was quoted as saying it has not ruled out beginning deliberations in the near future for potentially expanding the vaccination campaign to children in the six-month-to-four-year age range.
Officials said the Health Ministry could move forward soon with approval for young children, despite the low rates of vaccination for children in the 5-11 cohort. Thus far, less than one in five Israeli children in that age range have received two doses of the COVID vaccine.
On Thursday, the Israel Pediatric Association said it would make a decision on whether to oppose or support steps to expand the vaccination campaign to children under five only after it receives all relevant data from Pfizer on the vaccine. Data from the pharmaceutical giant is expected to be released as part of the FDA’s deliberations this month.
Preliminary data released by Pfizer on vaccination for young children suggested the vaccine offered partial protection from COVID.