The Covid-19 pandemic has been going on for over a year now and now that the vaccine is out, people are hoping that it is a success so that they could regain a sense of normalcy again.

The first Pfizer vaccine was authorized on December 11,  2020. According to Bloomberg, over 423 million doses have been given so far in the U.S. and over 7.11 billion doses have been given across 184 countries. Since the vaccine, the number of Covid-19 cases have decreased significantly, but then increased again around August and September due to the Delta variant and other breakout cases. There are different vaccine options, such as: Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen, Moderna, and viral vector vaccines. There have been extensive vaccine trials to determine if it is safe to distribute or not. It is believed that the Pfizer vaccine could be authorized for children ages 5-11 by the end of October, by U.S. health officials. Federal health regulators, like Dr. Fauci, suggested that a decision made by the FDA might come in November or later. 

According to Reuters, “Fauci said that Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) will likely take about three weeks longer than Pfizer to collect and analyze its data on children age 5-11, according to the source.” Previously, Pfizer had said that it would have data for children ages 5-11 ready in September and had planned to submit for an emergency use authorization (EUA) not too long after. Moderna expected its data from its study on children by the end of 2021. Once the companies submit their data, the FDA had said that it would work quickly to approve Covid-19 vaccines for kids. Emergency authorization such as this one for children ages 5-11, requires companies to submit months of safety data on trial participants, and six months are required for full licensure.

Parents are concerned about when the vaccine will be eligible for children aged 5-11, if the side effects are the same for adults and children, if schools will require them now, and if the vaccine is even safe for children to receive.