Pfizer files for vaccination approval for children 5 to 11 years of age

The vaccine campaign may soon gain new momentum in Canada. Pfizer has asked the federal government to approve the vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11. At the same time, a new Montreal study signed by D.^Re Caroline Kwach came to demonstrate the highest efficiency of rapid tests.

Melanie Marquis
Press

Matthew Perold
Press

Health Canada on Monday received a request from Pfizer-Bioentech – the first use of the vaccine for children in the country for this age group. The Ministry will approve it only if it conducts an independent and comprehensive scientific study […] This confirms that the benefits outweigh the risks. ”

At the same time, the Union Ministry “continues to monitor all data on safety and efficacy in real terms since the vaccine was distributed in Canada and elsewhere in the world”. We do not want to say when the judgment will fall.

“As with all vaccines against Govt-19, the Ministry will make it a priority to examine this request,” Health Canada underlined.

The pharmaceutical company says it relies on data from clinical trials where two 10 micrograms of vaccine were given to 2,268 participants aged 5 to 11 years. These results are comparable to the results of a previous study of 16- to 25-year-olds given at 16 micrograms.

The 10 microgram dose was retained “after rigorous selection based on the safety, tolerability, and immunity of children 5 to 11 years of age.” Pfizer applied for approval in the United States and Europe before doing so in Canada.

According to the Angus Reed poll released Monday morning, 51% of parents of children between this age are ready to be vaccinated “sooner”, while 18% plan to do so “eventually”. According to the same survey, one in four parents (23%) said they did not want to do it.

Quick tests: a happy study

Another front in the fight against infection, the Montreal study conducted at two high schools concluded that rapid tests would be more effective in detecting cases of COVID-19 infection. Thus, in symptomatic students, 83% were diagnosed with corona virus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

“It’s not bad for a first-line test,” explains epidemiologist Carolyn Kwach, the lead author of the study, which was published Monday in CHU Saint-Justin, the publication site MedRxiv.

The rate may be higher than 95% in symptomatic students with high viral load, which is estimated to increase the spread of the virus.^Re Kwach based on other studies on this type of rapid antigenic testing. In asymptomatic patients, the detection rate of positive cases is 26%.

According to D^Re KwaZulu-Natal, an initial report submitted to the Ministry of Health in May, is the basis for the decision to implement rapid tests in primary schools, as well as reduce the isolation of school students from 14 to 7 days.

“A similar French was studied, but with a much smaller sample,” says D^Re Kwach also has a five-month follow-up. We did the tests seven days after contact with the positive case and found that it was a very long interval. ”

Relevant schools are Calixa-Lavalle, a public school in Montreal-Nord, and Pensionnat to Saint-Nom-de-Marie in Outremond.^Re Kwach attended his children reading. Yves Petit, director of the boarding school, said, “73% of students and 90% of teachers voted.” We were able to engage teachers and students a little, and the strongest student in mathematics did some analysis. ”

The next step is to look at how to use large-scale rapid tests to “quickly achieve the post-infection phase,” says Dr.^Re Kwach, for example, can be used at home by corporate employees. We need to look at how we report results to public health. At the moment, these quick tests are selling for a high price on the internet, which is not fair. For example, there are countries like the UK and Austria that offer five quick tests for a family in certain situations before going to school or work. ”