The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), of the European Medicines Agency, recommends authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine in children ages 5 to 11 years

20/12/2021

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), has recommended extending the indication for the Comirnaty vaccine to include use in children ages 5 to 11. This vaccine is currently licensed for people 12 years of age and older.

The dose of Comirnaty in children ages 5 to 11 (10 mcg) will be lower than that used in people 12 years old and older (30 mcg), while the vaccination schedule will be the same as for the older age group, i.e., two doses three weeks apart.  

The CHMP indicated that the efficacy of Comirnaty was assessed based on nearly 2,000 children ages 5 to 11 with no prior signs of infection. Of the 1,305 children who received the vaccine, there were three cases of COVID-19; by comparison, among the 663 children who received a placebo, there were 16 cases of COVID-19. Thus, the vaccine was 90.7% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, although CHMP indicated that the real rate could be between 67.7% and 98.3%. The Committee indicated that the most common side effects in children ages 5 to 11 were similar to those in people 12 years old and older. These include injection-site pain, tiredness, headache, redness and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, and chills. The CHMP therefore concluded that the benefits of Comirnaty in children ages 5 to 11 outweigh the risks, especially in children with conditions that put them at increased risk of severe COVID-19.

Source: EMA. Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine: EMA recommends approval for children aged 5 to 11. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/comirnaty-covid-19-vaccine-ema-recommends-approval-children-aged-5-11

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