Gottlieb says Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine could be approved for children by early winter

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Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine could be approved for children by the onset of winter.

Gottlieb, who sits on Pfizer’s board of directors, said the company “may be able” to file an application as early as October, for approval in early winter.

“This fall Pfizer will be able, the company of which I sit on the board of directors, as you mentioned, to be able to file data with the FDA at some point in September and then file demand potentially as early as October, which will put us in a period where the vaccine could be available at some point in late fall, more likely early winter, depending on how long the FDA takes to review demand, ”Gottlieb told guest host Ed O’Keefe on CBS. “Facing the nation”.

He said the agency had “historically” taken four to six weeks to review the permits.

He warned, however, that the process could take longer if the FDA requests additional information.

“It might take longer to get clearance, but the agency will be able to give permission, I think, at some point in late fall, probably early winter, and they’ll found probably his decision on the circumstances. the country, what is the urgency, to get a vaccine for the children, ”he said.

Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine authorized for children 12 to 17 years of age. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are only allowed for people 18 years of age and older.

Schools are already grappling with the effects of COVID-19 among the student body at the start of the school year, with tens of thousands of students forced to stay home to quarantine or self-isolate due to virus.

The former FDA commissioner also gave his recommendations on how to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in schools.

He said the “two best things” schools can do to curb the spread are to test twice a week and keep students in “geographic hulls” and “social hulls” so that they don’t “fall apart.” mingle not with the entire student body, ”but rather with the people in their classes.

“These two things alone, according to the literature, are probably the two most effective steps schools can take,” Gottlieb said.

He also touted the importance of wearing masks and having eligible children vaccinated.

“And then the use of masks and the improvement of ventilation are also going to be very important. And finally by having the children vaccinated, about 50% of the children eligible for the vaccination have been vaccinated, so there is still a lot of work. that we can do out there, get more information for parents trying to encourage parents to immunize their children, ”said Gottlieb.

Gottlieb’s comments come as the United States sees an increase in COVID-19 cases, mainly due to the highly infectious delta variant which has established itself as the dominant strain in the United States



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