Strong immune response for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in children 6 months to under 5 years of age after third dose
Pfizer and BioNTech SE announced topline safety, immunogenicity and vaccine efficacy data from a Phase 2/3 trial evaluating a third 3-µg dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in children 6 months to under 5 years of age.
Following a third dose in this age group, the vaccine was found to elicit a strong immune response, with a favorable safety profile similar to placebo.
Vaccine efficacy, a secondary endpoint in this trial, was 80.3% in children 6 months to under 5 years of age. This descriptive analysis was based on 10 symptomatic COVID-19 cases identified from seven days after the third dose and accrued as of April 29, 2022. The trial protocol specifies a formal analysis will be performed when at least 21 cases have accrued from seven days after the third dose. Final vaccine efficacy data will be shared once available.
“Our COVID-19 vaccine has been studied in thousands of children and adolescents, and we are pleased that our formulation for the youngest children, which we carefully selected to be one-tenth of the dose strength for adults, was well tolerated and produced a strong immune response,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “These topline safety, immunogenicity and efficacy data are encouraging, and we look forward to soon completing our submissions to regulators globally with the hope of making this vaccine available to younger children as quickly as possible, subject to regulatory authorization.”
“The study suggests that a low 3-ug dose of our vaccine, carefully selected based on tolerability data, provides young children with a high level of protection against the recent COVID-19 strains,” said Prof. Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and co-founder of BioNTech. “We are preparing the relevant documents and expect completing the submission process to the FDA this week, with submissions to EMA and other regulatory agencies to follow within the coming weeks.”
