Moderna asked Thursday the Food and Drug Administration for authorization of its Covid vaccine to children aged 6 months through 5 years.

According to company press releases, the vaccine proved to be effective at protecting children from infection by the omicron variant of the virus in about 51% and 37% respectively for 2- through 5-year-olds. Moderna’s chief physician, Dr. Paul Burton said that these levels were comparable to protection from the omicron variant in children under 2 years old.

Moderna’s vaccine against infection provides a much lower level of protection than the 90% mark when it was first introduced. With more than 30 mutations in the omicron version, the virus can be evaded by antibodies.

Burton stated that children younger than 6 years should be protected against serious illness by receiving two doses. According to Burton, adults are able to produce approximately 1000 units of antibodies in two shots that provide at least 70% protection from severe illness. Children, however, have 1,400 to 1,800 units.

Burton explained that “what we know is this: those levels of antibodies will translate to very high protection contre severe disease” and prevent hospitalizations. He said that none of the children involved in the study had been hospitalized for Covid.

Moderna is planning to investigate a booster shot for children below 6 years of age with a modified shot. It targets both the Wuhan virus and the original Wuhan strain. Vaccine effectiveness has fallen so sharply because current shots still target the Wuhan virus strain. This is despite the fact that the virus has changed dramatically since its discovery in 2019.

Children under 6 years old would be given two 25-microgram shots if they are approved by FDA. This is a smaller dose than 100 microgram shots that the FDA currently approves as primary vaccine series for adults. Burton noted that 0.2% of the children developed fevers exceeding 103 degrees Fahrenheit (or 40 degrees Celsius). According to Moderna’s March press release, 17% of children under two years old had a fever above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. However, slightly more than 14% were between 2 and 6 years of age.

The only age that’s not eligible to receive vaccination in the U.S. is the 6 and under group. After the complete vaccine applications have been submitted, FDA promised that they would quickly authorize vaccinations for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

This week, Dr. Peter Marks from the FDA’s vaccine office informed the Senate Health Committee that the committee of independent advisers responsible for drug regulation will be meeting to review all data.

Marks indicated that “We will proceed quickly once we have received all applications.” The FDA will soon publish a schedule for the advisory committee meeting on various emergency-use applications. He informed the committee. According to someone familiar with the matter, the FDA is currently working to clear several dates so that the advisory committee can meet in June.

For months, parents have been searching for ways to safeguard their children from the virus. Children younger than 5 years old were admitted to hospital with Covid during the winter omicron waves, five times more than the peak of the pandemic, when the virus was at its most dominant. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC released data this week that showed 75% of the children below 11 years of age had been infected by Covid.

Initial authorization by Pfizer of its Covid vaccine was sought by the FDA to expedite approval. The FDA cleared the two first doses of this three-shot vaccine. Pfizer chose to delay its application in order to wait for data from the third shot. The results of the two first doses were not satisfactory.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, in a podcast interviewAccording to him, the first two doses only achieved 30%-40% efficacy. However, he believes that the third dose will significantly increase protection. Three micrograms of vaccine are required for adult protection. This is considerably less than 30 micrograms.

Bourla expressed hope that Pfizer’s vaccine would be approved by the FDA in June.