Pfizer says children under 5 can get 3 low-dose versions of its COVID-19 vaccine

Pfizer says children under 5 can get 3 low-dose versions of its COVID-19 vaccine¹

Transcript²

Three shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines³ for kids 6 months to under 5 prompted a strong immune response. Preliminary data suggests the vaccine is effective and safe.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

There's some potentially good news today for parents of very young children who want to vaccinate⁴ their kids against COVID-19. Pfizer and BioNTech say three doses of their pediatric vaccine appears to be safe and effective for children under 5. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein joins us now to discuss.

Good morning, Rob.

ROB STEIN, BYLINE⁵: Good morning.

FADEL: So many parents of these very young children have been really anxious to get their kids vaccinated⁶. What are the companies saying?

STEIN: Pfizer and BioNTech say a study involving more than 1,600 kids shows that three doses of a very low-dose version of their COVID-19 vaccine appears to safely trigger a response by the immune system that should be strong enough to protect children as young as 6 months old. And yeah, this would be very good news because right now there's no vaccine authorized⁸ for kids younger than 5. And many parents have been feeling very frustrated⁹ and angry about that...

FADEL: Right.

STEIN: ...Especially now that infections are rising again and no one's wearing masks anymore or taking other precautions to keep the virus from spreading. Officials had hoped to have a vaccine available for these kids by now. But in December, Pfizer and BioNTech reported that two doses didn't work, and so the companies were giving kids a third dose to see if that did the trick. Today they're saying, yes, it looks like it did.

FADEL: Did the company say whether these three doses actually protect kids from getting sick?

STEIN: Well, they say that very preliminary data indicate that three doses appears to be 80% effective against preventing symptomatic disease. And that's against the omicron variant¹⁰, which would be very good news, since omicron is, you know, so much better at sticking around the immune system. But there's a big caveat¹¹ about this. That 80% is based on just 10 kids who got sick only about a week after getting their third shot. So that's really not enough kids to reach any definitive¹² conclusions.

I talked about this with Dr. Paul Offit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He's a member of the Food and Drug Administration Committee that advises the agency on vaccines. He noted¹³ that the companies need at least 21 children who got COVID to reach any reliable conclusions.

PAUL OFFIT: I mean, 10 children - you're talking about 10 children. It's a small number, so it's really hard to comment or this as something more general since you don't know because the numbers are so small.

STEIN: That said, Offit says the immune response could be sufficient for the FDA to authorize⁷ the vaccine. The advisers¹⁴ will have to see all the data to know whether to recommend it. But other experts have been in touch with this morning say the results do look promising¹⁵.

FADEL: Now, this isn't the only vaccine in development for babies and very young children that the FDA will consider, right?

STEIN: That's right. That's right. Moderna is asking the FDA to authorize two doses of its low-dose vaccine for kids younger than age 5 and has already submitted data that the company says shows the vaccine is safe and effective - 37% to 51% effective - protective against omicron.

FADEL: So what happens next now?

STEIN: Pfizer and BioNTech say they'll submit their data this week to the FDA, which has already scheduled a series of meetings of its advisers for next month to consider both Moderna's and the Pfizer/BioNTech pediatric vaccines. So, you know, the agency could finally authorize a COVID-19 vaccine for babies, toddlers and other very young children in June. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will also weigh in. But, you know, given how anxious so many parents are for a vaccine for these littlest kids, they will likely act quickly, and a vaccine could finally become available by early summer.

FADEL: NPR health correspondent Rob Stein. Thanks, Rob.

STEIN: Sure thing.

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1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

4 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

7 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

8 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

9 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

11 caveat   

n.警告； 防止误解的说明

参考例句：

• I would offer a caveat for those who want to join me in the dual calling.为防止发生误解，我想对那些想要步我后尘的人提出警告。
• As I have written before,that's quite a caveat.正如我以前所写，那确实是个警告。

12 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

15 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。