Dear Editor,
I am so pleased that the government is committed to making vaccines available for all eligible age groups, including the recently approved 5-11 year-old age bracket. I was looking forward to being able to vaccinate my child using the Pfizer pediatric concentration vial, as recommended by the CDC. Pfizer determined that the correct pediatric dosage of the vaccine is one third of the adult dose, however, they have also documented that one third of the adult dose is too small to accurately measure into a syringe. Pfizer therefore created a pediatric lower concentration of the vaccine, so that it can be effectively measured and administered with dose integrity.
The CDC report states: “Use of the current adult/adolescent formulation (purple cap) to prepare doses for children 5<12 years would result in an injection volume for the 10mcg dose of 0.1ml, which is both generally considered too small for typical IM injections and has not been studied”. http://cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/downloads/Pfizer-Pediatric-Reference-Planning.pdf The Ministry of Health has not yet committed to ordering any pediatric vials from Pfizer, instead they are planning to train nurses to administer this tiny dose of the adult vaccine. The risks are that either the children will not get enough, or they will get too much of the vaccine. A pharmacy in America recently accidently administered same to children this week and have had to cease their vaccination program due to concerns they may not have received enough of the vaccine for an effective immune response. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/11/virginia-pharmacy-incorrectly-administers-covid-vaccine-to-112-kids-officials-pull-remaining-doses.html
I hope the government considers ordering the pediatric vials from Pfizer (orange cap). I will then be first in line with my child, ready to vaccinate.
Sincerely,
Mother of 7-yr-old