Children have rarely suffered a serious blow from COVID-19 but a jab for school going children would be a huge step towards normalcy, cutting down on severe cases of illness and ensuring a regular academic year. And in a highly anticipated announcement, data from BioNTech clinical trials published on Monday shows that a lower dose of the COVID-19 vaccine – roughly one-third the amount given to adults and teens — is safe and effective in cutting down COVID-19 infection in children as young as five.

The positive news from Pfizer-BioNtech research coincides with clinical trials being simultaneously conducted by Sinopharm’s Beijing Institute of Biological Products which found that its two-dose shot, BBIBP-CorV, widely used in China’s immunization program, triggers a “robust immune response” in children as little as three to 17. 

The news comes at a time when the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 has spread to three coastal cities in China – Putian, Xiamen, Quanzhou – putting nearly 50 school going children in isolation, a safe and effective vaccine for the younger age group was the need of the hour. Scroll below for all the details:

Clinical trials – BioNTech Vaccine

BioNtech conducted the research on 2,268 participants aged five to 11 and gave them two doses of the vaccine, three weeks apart. A 10-microgram dose was selected for children – that’s one-third of the 30-microgram dose given to teens and adults. 

The 10 microgram dose was carefully selected as the preferred dose for safety, tolerability and immunogenicity in children 5 to 11 years of age – Pfixer-BioNTech in a press statement.