Government accessing special Pfizer doses for children ages 5-11
The Government of Guyana is in the process of procuring Pfizer vaccine doses for children ages 5-11, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony stated during the daily Covid-19 update on Friday.
Minister Anthony explained that based on the data submitted, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorisation, on October 29th, and the process continued where another advisory committee to the CDC held meetings earlier in November and it was recommended to the CDC that vaccination should be done for kids 11-5.
“What has since happened is that although the dose is reduced, Pfizer has made special vaccination for this age group, so while it’s the same ingredients and everything, the packaging has been different and we have been making efforts to source that. Unfortunately, we were not able to get it in time to start our vaccination as we had intended, andtherefore we will have to defer that until we get those special doses that Pfizer would have made, the prepackaged doses, and once we get that we will be able to roll out the vaccination for children between 5-11.”
As it is now, the minister noted that vaccinating children ages 5-11 will have to wait until those special vials are acquired.
On October 29, 2021, the FDA reviewed documentation from Pfizer for children ages 5-11, after a clinical trial involving 2000 children within that age category was done.
Pfizer and Analysis from the FDA suggest that the benefits of vaccinating children younger than 12 far outweigh the risks.