A child-size dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine could soon...

A child-size dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine could soon be available after an FDA advisory group approved its use, as well as a Pfizer version, for children under 5.

Credit: AFP / Frederic J. Brown via Getty Images

COVID-19 vaccine shots could be going into the arms of Long Island children under 5 as early as next week after FDA advisers Wednesday approved the Pfizer and Moderna shots for the last age group not yet eligible.

Medical experts on Long Island said the move was a welcome development for thousands of families who have spent more than two years waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine for their young children.

“I think there are a lot of families out there who have been living in fear of their kids getting sick from this virus that’s caused a lot of harm,” said Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at Stony Brook Children's Hospital.

“I’m very excited for my patients to start getting it," he said. "I think it is going to be a big sigh of relief for a lot of families who have been waiting a long time for it. I think the vaccine for these young kids has been long overdue.”

What to know

  • An FDA advisory group has approved COVID-19 vaccines from drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna for children under 5.
  • The White House coronavirus response coordinator has said vaccinations could begin as early as Tuesday.
  • Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state is gearing up to distribute the vaccines, and providers have already pre-ordered 39,000 doses.

The vaccines must still be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, as well as an advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the CDC director, all expected within days.

White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha has said the long-awaited vaccinations could begin as early as Tuesday.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the approvals "welcome news that parents and guardians have been patiently waiting for," and urged them to get their young children vaccinated this summer.

She said the state is gearing up to distribute the vaccines, and providers across the state have already pre-ordered 39,000 doses.

The FDA outside experts voted unanimously that the benefits of Moderna’s and Pfizer’s shots outweigh any risks for children under 5 — roughly 19 million youngsters in the United States.

One panel member, Dr. Jay Portnoy, of Children’s Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, said: “This is a long-awaited vaccine. There are so many parents who are absolutely desperate to get this vaccine and I think we owe it to them to give them a choice to have the vaccine if they want to.”

Long Beach resident Wendy Young, the mother of a three-year-old, said she was elated.

“I’m so happy and relieved,” she said. “It’s just been hard to figure out where we can go … thinking through each decision we make, around where it is safe to bring our child.”

She said she plans to get her daughter vaccinated as soon as the shots are available.

On Long Island that may be as early as next Wednesday, said Dr. Matthew Harris, medical director of Northwell’s vaccine program. Handel estimated it could be anywhere from one to two weeks before the vaccines are widely available on Long Island.

Harris said parents should contact their pediatrician to discuss “not whether to get vaccinated, but when.” If the pediatrician is not giving the shots, he or she may refer parents to another doctor — or they can go to a local pharmacy, he said.

Handel said, “The best place is the place you can get it quickest.”

Dr. Peter Marks, FDA’s vaccine chief, opened Wednesday’s meeting with data showing a “quite troubling surge’’ in young children’s hospitalizations during the omicron wave, and noted 442 children under 4 have died during the pandemic. That’s far fewer than adult deaths, but should not be dismissed in considering the need for vaccinating the youngest children he said.

“Each child that’s lost essentially fractures a family,’’ Marks said.

Some parents have complained the approvals took too long, leaving their young children vulnerable to the virus. Others say they are hesitant to give their child the shots.

Harris and Handel said the fact authorities took so long to approve the vaccines for the youngest group should give parents confidence that the shots are safe and effective.

“As a parent I am actually comforted by the fact that they’ve done their due diligence,” Harris said. “It’s been studied, it’s been vetted.”

Handel said it took long because authorities started with the groups most vulnerable to the virus — adults — and then worked their way down, approving first teenagers, then elementary and middle school children, and finally the youngest group.

Handel said that while most young children do not develop severe symptoms from COVID-19, some do and hundreds in the United States have died from it.

“I certainly do take care of kids who end up in the hospital from COVID,” Handel said. “We want to make sure we can keep these kids as safe as possible by getting them vaccinated.”

The Pfizer vaccine for those four and under will be two primary doses taken 21 days apart, followed by a third shot two months later. The doses are one-tenth the strength given adults.

Moderna vaccines will be given in two shots taken 28 days apart. Those shots each contain a quarter of the dose given to adults.

Harris said families should talk with their pediatricians about whether they should have their children vaccinated immediately or wait a bit so they will be well-protected when the respiratory illness season hits in the fall.

Handel said it is best to start immediately, since the virus is unpredictable. Last summer, the highly contagious delta variants swept across Long Island and the nation, for instance.

“I think COVID is so unpredictable that it’s hard to know when a new variant is going to emerge,” he said.

The Pfizer shot will be at full effectiveness about two weeks after the third shot, meaning the process will take more than three months, he noted. But children start to get some immunity within days of getting the first shot, he added.

The U.S. government said last week it had about 5 million doses available initially, and has been allowing pharmacies and states to pre-order.

About 1.45 million of the 2.5 million available doses of Pfizer have been ordered, with about 850,000 of the Moderna shots ordered, officials said.

As of June 8, health care providers throughout New York State had preordered a total of 28,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5 — 7,900 doses of Moderna and 20,600 doses of Pfizer, state Department of Health spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said in an email.

Of the 28,500 total doses, Long Island providers had preordered 1,300 doses of Moderna and 4,100 doses of the Pfizer.

The two vaccines use the same technology but there are differences. In a call with reporters earlier this week, vaccine experts noted that the shots haven't been tested against each other, so there’s no way to tell parents if one is superior.

“That is a really important point, "' said Dr. Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University, a former FDA vaccine chief. “You can’t compare the vaccines directly.’’

Medical experts said they hope parents who are hesitant to give the youngest children the shots see the benefits.

In the age group above them, vaccinations have lagged. Only about 29% of children aged 5 to 11 have been vaccinated since Pfizer’s shots opened to them last November, a rate far lower than public health authorities consider ideal.

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