NORTHWEST ARKANSAS, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Children ages 5-11 are one step closer to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and some parents are looking forward to getting them the extra protection.
Pfizer asked FDA for emergency use authorization Thursday. The FDA is set to discuss the authorization on Oct. 26. One Bentonville mom, Sarah Arnio, said she is excited for her 5-year-old son to be eligible soon.
“It puts me at ease a little bit knowing that it should just be a few weeks before we can get him kind of fully vaccinated of course, though, there’s still risks but at least it should be less risky,” Arnio said.
Dr. Jessica Snowden, pediatric infectious disease specialist at Arkansas Children’s, said this will be a huge help for keeping kids out of the hospital for COVID-19.
“This is a big, big step to letting our kids get back in the classroom, protecting them from getting sick like the kids I’ve seen in the hospital here over the summer, this is just fantastic news,” Snowden said.
The Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 5-11 will be two shots, but will be a slightly lower dose than the ones adults get.
“It’s a smaller dose to go along with their kind of younger immune systems but it gives us the same level of antibody that we see in adults,” Snowden said.
Another Bentonville parent, Jason McCroy, said he feels comfortable with his kids getting the vaccine because of the lower dose.
“It makes me feel better knowing that their not getting the same amount as the adults and that they did the research to figure out what was going to be effective,” McCroy said.
Both Arnio and McCroy said they hope the vaccine for kids will bring everyone one step closer to returning to normal.