Pfizer, a major American pharmaceutical company, has filed an application with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to request approval for the new coronavirus vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years.
Vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11 have been using Pfizer's vaccine since March, with a second vaccination rate of 16.2% announced on the 21st.
Under these circumstances, on the 22nd, Pfizer applied for approval from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare so that children aged 5 to 11 would be eligible for the third vaccination.
According to Pfizer, when children aged 5 to 11 years old, about 6 months after the second vaccination, were given the third vaccination, the level of neutralizing antibody that suppresses the action of the virus increased about 6 times. It is said that.
It was also effective against Omicron strains and did not raise any new safety concerns.
For children up to the second vaccination, a national research group released data for the first time this month, with higher antibody levels and lower rates of side reactions than adults after infection. However, it is said that the inoculation is significant.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is expected to hold an expert group as early as next month to examine safety and efficacy and discuss approval or disapproval.