Vaccination against COVID-19 for children aged 5-11 is expected to start soon in Korea.
The Food and Drug Administration (MFDS) has decided to approve Pfizer's 5-11-year-old Corona 19 Vaccine Cominati.
The approved pediatric vaccine is of the same type as the Pfizer vaccine licensed for children 12 years of age and older, with a single dose of 0.2 mL, which is one-third of the dose for children 12 years and older.
As with adults, two doses are given at 3-week intervals.
The specific vaccination time and subject will be announced later by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after discussion with the Specialized Immunization Committee.
However, experts who participated in the review for approval of this product expressed their opinion that the high-risk group with underlying diseases should be prioritized among children.
Choi Eun-hwa, a professor of pediatrics at Seoul National University Hospital, said through an online briefing today (23rd), "People with obesity, diabetes, chronic lung disease, and heart disease who are at high risk of exacerbation when infected with Corona 19" and " “Children who are in close contact, such as living with high-risk adults, can be considered as priority targets,” he explained.
As a result of reviewing clinical trial data, experts explained that there were no serious adverse reactions and the infection prevention effect was 90.7%.
The main adverse reactions were injection site pain, fatigue, headache, injection site redness, muscle pain, chills, etc. similar to those seen in adults, and most of them were mild and disappeared within 2 to 3 days, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said.
However, injection site redness occurred more frequently than adolescents and adults aged 16 to 25 years, and Professor Choi Young-jun explained, "The younger you are, the stronger the local reaction tends to be, and this is a common symptom with other vaccines."