Parents may soon have the option of vaccinating their children against covid after the UK’s health regulator gave the green light for a vaccine today.
The Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorized a Pfizer vaccine for children aged six months to four years.
But young Britons will not be offered the vaccine until the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) also agrees.
It’s unclear if they will, since children rarely get seriously ill from coronavirus.
One in 300,000 children die after testing positive, according to UK government figures.
It comes as cases in the UK once again pass the million mark, with infections rising in England for the first time since mid-October.
But that is well below the numbers seen in early 2022, with infections rising to nearly four million in July and just under five million in March.
The new vaccine, also created by BioNTech, was found to be safe and effective based on an ongoing clinical trial involving 4,526 participants.
Those involved were given three micrograms, a lower dose than the 10 micrograms used for children ages 5 to 11.
For comparison, adults in Britain receive a dose 10 times stronger.
The first two would be given three weeks apart, before a third dose was given at least two months after the second dose.
It comes after US officials released the same vaccine for the same age group earlier this year.
Data from the companies in August suggested that it was 73.2% effective in preventing coronavirus among children aged 6 months to four years.
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