Pfizer Kids Covid Vaccine – Everything You Need to Know

Pfizer Kids Covid Vaccine – Pfizer COVID booster shot, or Pfizer bivalent booster shot, has been accepted by Americans with both hands. The latest booster shot has reignited the trust and interest of Americans in COVID booster shots once again. Americans were not taking much interest in the COVID vaccine or its booster shots due to its ineffectiveness against currently dominating variants of COVID-19.

The ineffectiveness of the COVID vaccine against currently dominating variants was not just a false debate on social media and other public platforms. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States also accepted that all these debates are genuine when they asked every COVID vaccine manufacturer in the country to work on variant-specific vaccines.

Now, Pfizer and one of its top competitors have lost their bivalent COVID booster shot, and it is a success in the country. People are getting themselves vaccinated, and they are also looking to vaccinate their kids with the latest COVID vaccine.

Latest Updates on Pfizer Kids COVID Vaccine Booster Shot

On 26th September 2022, Pfizer released a press statement mentioning that they have recently asked the Food and Drug Administration of the United States to approve their latest booster shots for the age group of 5 to 11.

Currently, the updated Pfizer COVID vaccine booster shot Is the only updated booster shot available in the United States for anyone below the age of 18. If the Food and Drug Administration of the United States gives its approval to the current request of Pfizer, it will also become the only updated vaccine booster shot available for anyone above the age of 5 in the United States.

With the previous approvals, the Food and Drug Administration, along with the Centers for Disease Control and prevention of the United States, was very hopeful that the latest updated COVID booster shots could provide greater immunity and prevent infection.

In the same statement, Pfizer also mentioned that they are going to ask the European Medicines Agency in the upcoming days to extend the authorization and include children above the age of 5. 

In the latest news, the latest Pfizer booster shots have received approval from a Japanese health ministry panel to vaccinate everyone above the age of six months in the country. At the same time, the company is also hopeful that it will receive the approval of the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.

How Popular is the Pfizer Kids COVID Vaccine in the United States?

Recent social media posts have created a lot of buzz on those platforms. Then a user started claiming that only 325,000 American kids have got themselves vaccinated. 

As per the current data, the United States has around 19 million kids below the age of 5, and the bizarre number of 325,000 is not correct. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States has already given its approval to two different COVID vaccine manufacturers to vaccinate anyone above the age of six months in the country.

Latest data points have been suggesting that around 1.4 million American kids above the age of six months to four years have received at least one shot of the COVID vaccine. These numbers were published by the American Academy of Pediatrics on September 21st.

The number is going to climb with the age group, as the United States has recorded that around 10.5 million children between the ages of 5 to 11 Have already received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine. At the same time, around 8.8 million kids have received both doses of the primary COVID vaccine series.

At the same time, if you take a look at the data points for kids between the age of 12 to 17, you will find that around 17 million kids have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, and 15 million have received both doses of primary series of COVID vaccine.

Pfizer Kids COVID Vaccine Available in the United States

The Food and Drug Administration of the United States is yet to give its nod for updated Pfizer kids COVID booster shots. A few days back, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a press statement mentioning that the United States might get updated COVID booster shots for kids below the age of 12 by mid-October 2022.

If that press statement is true, then Americans can share the good news any day. If you are also among those parents who want to get their kid vaccinated with updated booster shots of the COVID vaccine, then we highly recommend you to go through the below-given information.

You must be prepared, as the Food and Drug Administration of the United States is going to approve a new COVID booster shot rather than a single vaccine shot solution.

 Age group six months to four years

• Everyone above that leads six months to four years is eligible to receive three short primary series of Pfizer kids COVID vaccine.
• Since the CDC does not recommend any booster shot for this age group, everyone will be considered up to date with the COVID vaccine after two weeks of receiving the third dose of COVID vaccine.
• Everyone must maintain at least a three to eight weeks gap between their first and second dose of Pfizer kids COVID vaccine primary series.
• A similar gap should be maintained for the 3rd dose.

Age group 5 to 11

• Everyone above the age of 5 will be eligible to receive two primary shot series for the COVID vaccine.
• Similar to other age groups, everyone should maintain at least a gap of three to eight weeks between two shots of the primary series.
• Everyone above the age of 5 will also be eligible to receive at least one monovalent booster shot.
• Bivalent booster shots have not been approved for this age group.
• Everyone must maintain at least a five months gap between their last shot of the primary series and the monovalent booster shot.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will consider you up-to-date with the COVID vaccine as soon as the recipient gets the third dose.

Age group 12 to 17 years

• Everyone above the age of 12 will also be eligible to receive two short primary series of Pfizer kids COVID vaccine.
• You must maintain at least a three to eight weeks gap between your first and second shots of the primary series dose.
• Age groups of 12 to 17 years will also be eligible to receive at least one updated booster shot, also known as a bivalent booster shot.
•  You must maintain at least a two months gap between your final shot of the primary series and the updated bivalent booster shot.
• Everyone who has received the primary series of the COVID vaccine along with an updated bivalent booster shot will be considered up to date with the COVID vaccine.

Pfizer Kids COVID Vaccine Side Effects

Before we completely wrap up this session, let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room. People are much more skeptical about the COVID vaccine than any other vaccine in the United States. 

People are not afraid because of some rumors on the Internet. There are several arguments to back this up. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States limited the use of the Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine in the country, which became the biggest reason for people being skeptical about COVID vaccines.

Yes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledge some side effects of the Pfizer kids COVID vaccine. You can get your kid any vaccine you want, and there are going to be some side effects.

Most kids are only going to experience general or common side effects similar to any vaccine.

Six months to three years

• Pain on the site of injection
• Swelling on the site of injection
• Swollen lymph node
• Sleepiness
• Loss of appetite
• Crying
• Irritability

4 to 17 years

• Pain on the site of injection
• Swelling on the site of injection
• Redness on the site of injection
• Tiredness
• Muscle pain 
• joint pain 
• chills
• Fever
• Swollen lymph node
• Headache
• Digestive issues

In kids, side effects are more common after administering a second dose. If your kid is experiencing any of the above-given symptoms, then you should not get worried about it. These are the general side effects, and most kids are going to get better without even any medication or medical assistance.

Lastly, you should be very careful regarding the allergic reaction after getting a vaccination. If your kid is allergic to any ingredient used in the vaccine or in general, there is a high probability that your kid will experience an allergic reaction after vaccination.

You should let your healthcare provider know about the allergies your kid might have.