Reports: Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5 could be available this month

Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A smaller dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of 5 will be submitted for authorization soon and could become available nationwide by the end of this month, according to multiple news reports.

For months, Pfizer and partner BioNTech have been developing the children's vaccine -- which contains a much smaller amount than adult doses and would be given in two shots.

Pfizer expects the vaccine to be submitted for emergency authorization as soon as Tuesday. If regulators sign off on it, the drugmaker anticipates that the child doses could be available before the end of February.

NBC News, The New York Times and The Washington Post all reported the planned timeline Tuesday.

If granted emergency use authorization, the first step in the full approval process, Pfizer's child vaccine would be the first available in the United States for the age group. Almost 20 million children would be able to receive the shots.

Pfizer's adult vaccine is currently authorized for everyone over the age of 5.

In December, Pfizer said it found that the vaccine spurred an immune response in children between 6 months to 2 years old. It also found that the vaccine was not as effective in children 2 to 4 years old, but still provided some protection.

Pfizer's child vaccine would represent a key tool in the fight against the Omicron COVID-19 variant, which has fueled cases worldwide for months but may be beginning to wane.

"I would say it's certainly fine to release an under-5 COVID vaccine on the basis of immunobridging data, but there has to be a sufficiently robust immune response," Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told the Post.

Pfizer is also testing a three-dose regimen for the younger age group.

On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval for an adult COVID-19 vaccine produced by competitor Moderna. Novavax is also seeking FDA authorization for its vaccine -- which, if endorsed by regulators, would be the fourth coronavirus vaccine to be available in the United States. It would be the first protein-based vaccine to receive emergency U.S. authorization.