Pfizer BioNTechYou can submit data to the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to get emergency approval to give your vaccine to children below 5 years of age.

According to the companies, the FDA requested they submit data in order for them to authorize the two first doses of what would eventually become a 3-dose vaccine that will be available for children aged 6 months through 4. Pfizer, BioNTech and others said that data regarding the third dose of the vaccine will soon be available and submitted to FDA.

The last group that isn’t eligible for vaccines are toddlers and children under five years of age. FDA expects to speed up approval for 6 to 4 year olds, as with other age groups. After approval, pediatricians will soon be authorized to give shots within days.

The omicron variant has spread across the nation and caused an unprecedented outbreak of infections. Parents anxiously await the vaccination for their younger children.

While children have a lower chance of contracting severe Covid-related illness than their adult counterparts, hospitalizations due to the virus are much more common in them. have increased during the recent surgea number of illnesses, which raises concerns over the long-term consequences for children’s health.

According to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January, “Sadly, we see the rate of hospitalizations rising for children zero through 4, children who aren’t yet eligible for Covid-19 vaccine.”

White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci claimed last month he hoped the FDA would authorizeThe vaccine will be available for children in February. Fauci indicated that younger children will likely require a three dose vaccine.

Pfizer changed its clinical trial in December in order to test a third dose of the vaccine after its two-dose 3 microgram vaccination failed to generate an adequate immune response among children 2-4 years. Two 30-microgram doses are given to adults in the first series.

Alejandra Gurtman (Pfizer’s vaccine scientist) stated last month that the drugmaker would have data ready for children under five years old by March/April. A group of 250 physicians wrote a request to the FDA last month, asking them to remove red tape and approve the 3-microgram vaccine for children. As the nation faces a pandemic, the doctors stated that it is unethical not to give parents the opportunity to vaccine younger children.

“As the children re-enter preschools and daycares centers with the omicron virus, we know that this will cause the highest health risks for the children during the whole pandemic.” the doctors wrote in their letter.

According to CDC data data, more than 94,000 children were admitted to hospitals with Covid. At least 1,000 of these children have been killed by the virus since 2020 when the pandemic started. More than 11.4 Million children have been infected by the virus, which represents 18.6% of all cases reported since the outbreak. according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

According to the CDC, more than 6,000 children have been diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). MIS–C is a severe condition, although rare, that affects children with Covid. It is characterized in multiple organ dysfunctions. According to CDC data, MIS-C has claimed the lives of at least 55 children.

 Dr. Grace Lee, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University, said the pandemic has burdened an entire generation of children, with the long-term impact yet to be seen.

Lee stated, “I truly believe that we have not addressed the long term impact of Covid infections in children.” told the CDC’s independent committee of vaccines advisorsShe chaired the committee earlier in this month as Pfizer boosters cleared for 12- and 15-year old children.

Lee stated, “I believe we haven’t even scratched to the surface of how we’re going to find out.”