The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said that it has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged six months to four years.
The vaccine would be administered in three 0.2ml doses, each containing 3 micrograms of messenger RNA, with a minimum interval of 21 days between the first two doses and at least eight weeks before a third shot, the agency said.
The government has signed an agreement to purchase 1.9 million doses of the vaccine, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC, said the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would convene an expert meeting as soon as possible to discuss the vaccine’s delivery timeline.
Centers for Disease Control Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), head of the CECC’s disease surveillance division, said that the rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can only be arranged once the manufacturer confirms the delivery schedule.
An expert panel had convened on Friday to review the EUA request submitted by the biotechnology company, the FDA said.
Considering the COVID-19 situation in Taiwan, parents are encouraged to have their infants and toddlers vaccinated against the disease to reduce the risk of severe illness or death, it said.
During clinical trials, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for young children showed a robust neutralizing antibody response consistent with that of adolescents and adults, the agency said.
No cases of myocarditis, pericarditis or death were reported during clinical trials, it added.
The most common adverse reactions in children aged six months to two years were decreased appetite, pain, redness or swelling at the vaccination site, and a fever, the agency said.
The most common adverse reactions for children aged two to five were pain and redness at the vaccination site, fatigue, a fever and a headache, it said.
Taiwan on May 2 began offering the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to children aged six to 11 and introduced the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged five to 11 on May 25.
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