El Paso pediatrician weighs in on vaccine for young kids as Pfizer seeks authorization

EL PASO, Texas -- It's a big milestone in the fight against Covid-19, as kids under the age of five could soon be eligible to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.

On Tuesday, Pfizer and BioNTech submitted its request for the US Food and Drug Administration to authorize their vaccine for emergency use for children age 6 months to up to 5 years.

Experts suggest vaccines could start rolling out by the end of February or early March.

"It's exciting for a lot of parents who want to vaccinate their children," said Dr. Rana Kronfol, a pediatrician with El Paso Pediatric Associates. "This demographic is the population that goes to daycares and preschools, they do tend to get sick and they do tend to share germs."

It's a three-dose primary series and these children will get a three-microgram dose. That's about 10 percent of what adults and teens get in a single dose. 

Pfizer and BioNTech only asked the FDA to grant emergency use authorization for a two-dose regimen of the vaccine. However, the vaccine makers plan to continue testing a three doses for these younger kids.

"I think the biggest the biggest thing will be managing exposure in a safer way," Dr. Kronfol said. "So if you are vaccinated, and you are exposed, the amount of time that you will need to spend at home, and therefore, parents spend at home hopefully will be managed differently if the kids are vaccinated.

Dr. Kronfol said ultimately it's the parents choice to decide if they want their kids to get vaccinated.

According to city data, nearly 10,000 kids between the ages of 5 to 11 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The next step is for the FDA advisory committee to meet on February 15.

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