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Children aged 5 to 11 years old can receive a distinct vaccination formulation of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (messenger RNA or mRNA vaccine) is available to children aged five years and older.
Children aged 5 to 11 years old will receive a distinct vaccination formulation of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine with an orange cap.
- The pediatric vaccine dosage is one-third the amount provided to adolescents and adults, and a smaller needle is used.
- However, their efficacy and mechanism of action remain the same as the adult vaccine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declared that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has met the safety and efficacy standards for its authorization in children aged 5 to 11 years old.
Scientists have conducted clinical trials with about 3,000 children and are still conducting studies. The vaccine is effective and safe in healthy children and adults. Those with underlying medical conditions should consult a doctor before getting vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that in public places or when surrounded by a crowd, children aged two to four years old, unvaccinated children aged five years or older, and adults should continue to wear a mask, maintain hygiene, and social distancing standards.
How do the COVID-19 vaccines work?
Vaccines teach the immune system to identify and fight certain bacteria or viruses that can cause serious illness.
COVID-19 vaccinations cooperate with the immune system to help build disease defenses so that the body is prepared to combat the coronavirus infection. If the vaccinated individual is exposed to coronavirus, the antibodies will combat the virus and protect the person from getting COVID-19.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccines use a harmless piece of mRNA. Following immunization, the mRNA instructs the immune cells how to develop an immune response on being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.
For COVID-19, a variety of vaccinations have been produced.
- All vaccines have the same goal, which is to elicit an immune response against COVID-19-causing coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
- Although all COVID-19 vaccines aim to protect against COVID-19, they do so in different ways.
- The coronavirus spike protein is used in most COVID-19 vaccines to elicit an immunological response.
- On the surface of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, there are spikes of a protein structure called S protein.
- These spike proteins help the virus attach to cells, leading to illness progression.
- The immune system recognizes the spike protein as foreign and responds by producing long-lasting immune cells and antibodies (fighting cells) that remain in the bloodstream and defend the person.
If a fully vaccinated person is exposed to the coronavirus at a later date, their immune system will fight the virus more quickly and efficiently, thereby preventing the disease.
What are the 4 types of COVID-19 vaccines and how do they work?
COVID-19 vaccines come in a variety of forms, including:
- mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccines
- COVID-19 mRNA vaccines use mRNA as a genetic code.
- Following immunization, the mRNA instructs the cells to begin making and displaying harmless spike protein fragments on the cell surface.
- The immune system recognizes the spike protein as foreign and initiates an immunological reaction including antibody production.
- Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are two pharmaceutical companies manufacturing mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.
- Viral vectors
- The genetic material from the COVID-19 virus is put into a weakened live virus, such as an adenovirus, in this type of vaccine. The weakened virus, a viral vector, enters the cells after immunization.
- It transmits the COVID-19 virus's genetic material, which instructs the cells to generate harmless copies of the coronavirus spike protein.
- When cells show spike proteins on their surfaces, the immune system detects the protein as foreign and produces an immune response to counteract it.
- Sputnik V, Oxford-AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson-Janssen COVID-19 vaccines are based on viral vectors.
- Protein subunit vaccines
- Protein subunit vaccines use the spike protein, which is a noninfectious, harmless protein component of the coronavirus.
- This protein, which is located on the virus's surface, is created in a laboratory.
- Immune cells recognize the spike protein as foreign when it enters the body and begin producing T-lymphocytes and antibodies.
- The COVID-19 vaccine from Novavax is a protein subunit vaccine.
- Inactive vaccines
- Inactivated vaccinations, unlike conventional immunizations, contain the whole coronavirus after it has been chemically treated to render it inactive.
- In most vaccines, a substance called beta-propiolactone is utilized to inactivate the virus.
- Unlike other vaccines, this one does not produce a significant immune response that lasts for a long time.
- To boost the immunological response, adjuvants could be added to inactivated COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Booster shots may be required in the long run to provide long-term immunity.
- COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac, Sinopharm, and Bharat Biotech are inactivated vaccines.
What are the COVID-19 vaccine’s advantages?
The vaccine is effective and safe in healthy children and adults. Those with underlying medical conditions should consult a doctor before getting vaccinated.
People are protected in the following ways by the COVID-19 vaccine:
- Aids in the prevention of COVID-19 disease
- Lowers the risk of becoming seriously ill and hospitalized if a person contracts COVID-19
- Makes it harder for the disease to spread because the number of people who are protected from COVID-19 grows, contributing to herd immunity
What are the common side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine?
Most side effects are mild and include:
- Sore arm
- Slight fever
- Flu-like symptoms
- Weariness
- Headache
These are common side effects that occur after immunization and last for a day or two. Symptoms are typical and indicate that the body is strengthening its defenses.
COVID-19 vaccines’ effects on variants
The COVID-19 vaccinations are predicted to protect against novel viral variations or mutations to some extent.
The COVID-19 vaccinations elicit a broad immune response; therefore, any virus mutations or modifications may not render the vaccines useless.
