CNN: Why Covid-19 vaccines for younger children would come in smaller doses

The Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine authorized for children 5 to 11 year olds will contain a 10 microgram dose, a third of the dose given to adolescents and adults. According to Pfizer, the vaccine is safe and 90.7% effective against symptomatic Covid-19 for this age group. The goal of the vaccine for any age is to find the smallest amount of antigen that triggers an immune response for the maximum protection and fewest reactions. Because the immune system weakens with age and children are still developing, they could have potentially strong responses to smaller amounts of the antigen. In the trials, 5 to 11 year old children experienced fewer side effects such as chills and fevers within the 10 microgram dose compared to the 30 microgram dose. Read the full CNN article here.