Children as young as 12 could be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by the summer. Indiana Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lindsay Weaver says Pfizer plans to seek an FDA emergency use authorization soon.
“Their clinical trials of 12-to-15-year-olds have found the vaccine to be 100-percent effective in preventing COVID-19 and was very well tolerated in those populations,” Weaver said during Wednesday’s press conference.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said vaccination studies are also looking promising for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. “The safety looks really great,” Box said. “What I will say is that the study showed that not only did mom make antibodies that crossed across the placenta to the baby while she was still pregnant with the baby, so they could test the baby’s cord blood when it was born and know those antibodies were there, but they could also show those antibodies in the breast milk, which is what we find with influenza and other vaccines because little babies aren’t going to be able to be vaccinated right away.”
For now, Dr. Weaver said the best way to protect kids who can’t get vaccinated is to get vaccinated yourself.
