Covid-19 vaccines were first approved for emergency use authorization by the FDA at the end of 2020. Since there weren’t a lot of doses of the vaccines available right away, the roll out had to start with the people who were most at risk. We’re talking about health care works and the elderly population.

Over time, enough doses of the vaccine were produced that anyone could get vaccinated, that is, if you’re old enough. Currently, only people age 15+ are eligible to get vaccinated for Covid-19. Yet, children well below that age are currently in school, and in some cases, the students aren’t social distanced or wearing face masks. That leaves many parents concerned.

Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb is on the Pfizer board, and he has some good news for parents who want to get their elementary age children vaccinated for Covid-19. According to Gottlieb, “You could potentially have a vaccine available to children age 5 to 11 by Halloween.”

Dr. James Versalovic is the pathologist-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital, and he is helping to run trials of the vaccine in children. He explained, “We are doing everything we can now to move these trials ahead, and they’re moving ahead well.” He added that October is the goal.

It is important to note that vaccine does for children in the 5-11 age group might be different than they are for adults. According to the FDA, “children are not small adults” and “the vaccine doses that are currently being studied in younger children are not necessarily the same vaccine doses” used for older populations.

Once the clinical trials are complete, the FDA will work with manufacturers to analyze the data. Then the manufacturers can submit the vaccines for emergency use authorization. At that point, the FDA expects it will take a few weeks to look at the risk and benefits of the vaccines before deciding to grant emergency use authorization.

In the meantime, Dr. Versalovic recommends that children continue to wear face masks to prevent getting Covid-19.

Do you have children in the 5-11 age group? If so, are you planning to get your children vaccinated once the vaccine has been approved?