‘Pfizer may get authorisation for kids’ vaccine in US by October’

An employee (right) at a primary school undergoes nucleic acid testing for COVID-19 ahead of the new semester in Shenyang in China’s northeastern Liaoning province on Friday. Pic/AFP

United States (US) drug maker Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine is likely to get authorisation for providing vaccines to children aged between 5 and 12 by October, according to Scott Gottlieb, former head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Currently, of the three Covid-19 vaccines used in the US, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been granted the emergency use authorisation for children aged 12 and older.

Pfizer along with Moderna and Johnson and Johnson are conducting clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the vaccines in children under 12. Results of the Pfizer vaccine for children are expected in September.

"Pfizer will be in a position to file data with the FDA at some point next month, and then submit its application to expand its emergency use authorisation for its vaccine in children 5 years and older as early as October," Gottlieb was quoted as saying in an interview on CBS News on Sunday.

"The agency (FDA) will be in a position to make an authorisation, I believe, at some point, late fall, probably early winter." "And probably they're going to base their decision on what the circumstances around the country, what the urgency is to get to a vaccine for kids," Gottlieb, who is also a member of Pfizer's board of directors, told CBC News. Agencies

Israel cancels full quarantine obligation

Israel has announced the cancelation of the full quarantine obligation for passengers arriving from most countries, the Ministry of Health said. The decision will take effect on September 3, and will apply to vaccinated and recovered passengers only, the Ministry announced on Sunday. However, it will not include the four countries for which Israel has issued a travel ban, which are Bulgaria, Mexico, Turkey and Brazil, Xinhua news agency.

Oz's Covid deaths rise to over 1,000

Amid the raging third wave of the pandemic, Covid-19 deaths in Australia has increased to more than 1,000, the country's Department of Health announced on Monday. On Monday morning, New South Wales (NSW), the country's most populous state and the current epicentre of the pandemic, reported another four new fatalities, which increased Australia's overall death toll to 1,003, reports Xinhua news agency. There have been 93 Covid-19 deaths in NSW since June 16.

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