A new lower-dose formulation of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot has been approved for children ages five to 11.
London, United Kingdom:
UK regulators on Wednesday approved Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for use in children aged five to 11 as the country reported more than 100,000 new daily cases for the first time amid rising Omicron variant infections.
The developments came after the government said it would shorten the isolation period for positive cases and Wales followed Scotland in unveiling new curbs after Christmas, mainly around hospitality and major events.
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) said it had approved a new lower-dose formulation of the Pfizer-BioNTech injection after finding it to be “safe and effective” for children ages five to 11.
MHRA chief executive June Raine said there was “robust evidence to support a positive benefit-risk for children in this age group”.
The “overwhelming majority” of reported side effects from the dual “age-related” injection involved mild symptoms, such as a sore arm or a flu-like illness, she added.
The Joint Vaccination and Immunization Committee, which advises UK health departments on immunisation, said it now recommends offering basic vaccination to some within the age group.
Britain is in the midst of a ramped-up booster campaign as it tries to minimize the impact of weeks of rising Omicron infections, with the goal of offering a third shot to all adults by the end of the month.
Record infections
The variant is now the dominant strain of the virus across the country — already one of the hardest hit in Europe, with a death toll of 147,573 — as it records daily cases at record levels.
Officials announced 106,122 new infections on Wednesday, the highest number since the start of mass testing in the summer of last year.
Previously, the government said people who tested positive can stop isolating themselves after seven days instead of 10 if they have taken two negative lateral flow tests.
Amid the skyrocketing numbers of cases, it could be possible that many more people participate in the family Christmas celebrations.
Hours later, the devolved government in Wales announced a series of new curbs from December 26, including limiting socializing in pubs, cinemas and restaurants to groups of six people or fewer.
The two-meter distance will return in public places, while pubs and other licensed premises will be table-only and staff will be required to collect contact tracing information and masks will be required again.
Major events are essentially banned, with the maximum allowed number of people allowed to enter at 30 and outside at 50.
It follows that Scotland will unveil new rules there on Tuesday, which will also come into effect on December 26 for at least three weeks and limit the number of visitors to open-air events to 500.
The move means the pandemic has forced the cancellation of Edinburgh’s hugely popular New Year’s Eve celebrations for the second year running.
Antiviral drug deal
However, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resisted calls for stricter rules to be imposed in England over Christmas.
The embattled leader, reeling from weeks of scandal and setbacks – plus growing discontent in his own party – has said he wants more evidence about Omicron’s seriousness and ability to evade vaccines.
Meanwhile, his government has signed agreements to purchase more than 4 million courses of two new antiviral drugs – ritonavir from Pfizer and molnupiravir from US rival Merck/MSD – to treat Covid-19.
Molnupiravir, sold as Lagevrio, is part of a national trial at the University of Oxford that people can participate in if they have virus symptoms.
Britain was the first country in the world to approve it last month, and authorities will make it available to people at high risk for serious illnesses, such as those with cancer.
Pfizer’s pill, marketed as Paxlovid, has yet to be approved worldwide.
The company said on Tuesday that clinical trials have shown it reduced hospitalizations and deaths among at-risk patients by nearly 90 percent when taken several days after symptoms started.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
