Photo/Illutration A child receives a COVID-19 vaccine. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The health ministry on Oct. 5 approved two vaccines for COVID-19, including the first to be made available for children under 4.

Vaccinations will begin after the vaccines are delivered to medical institutions from the week beginning Oct. 24.

The Pfizer Inc. vaccine was approved for infants between 6 months and 4 years old. The other approved vaccine is designed for the BA.5 Omicron subvariant and will be given to those 12 and older.

Both vaccines are likely to be paid for by public funds under the Immunization Law.

Vaccines for children until now were only available for those between the ages of 5 and 11.

One dose of the vaccine for children 4 and under will have only a third of the active substance of the vaccine used for children between 5 and 11, meaning the younger children will need to receive three shots. The vaccine is already in use in the United States.

Clinical tests by Pfizer found a similar level of neutralizing antibodies in young children who received the shot as young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who were vaccinated.

Other data said the vaccine had a 70-percent effectiveness rate in preventing COVID-19.

Although the vaccine is based on the original novel coronavirus, studies have also found it effective against the Omicron subvariant if a booster shot is given.

Studies have also looked at side effects in infants between the ages of 6 months and 2 years. Fevers of 38 degrees or higher were recorded after the booster shot in 6.8 percent of the cases. One report stated 20.2 percent of the infants lost their appetite. There were no reports of death.

The vaccine for the BA.5 Omicron subvariant is also made by Pfizer, and delivery will begin from the week beginning Oct. 10. The new vaccine will replace the one approved in September to deal with the BA.1 Omicron subvariant.

Those vaccines made by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer have been given to senior citizens.

About 43 million doses of the vaccine for the BA.5 subvariant will be delivered by Nov. 7. The vaccine is designed to defend against both the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, as well as the original novel coronavirus strain.

While testing on mice found it to be highly effective against the BA.5 subvariant, data from human trials have not been released.

The new vaccine was approved because there are likely to be almost no safety concerns since only slight changes were made to the substance used in the vaccine against the BA.1 subvariant.

Japan and Britain began using the vaccines for the BA.1 subvariant, but later development led to one for the BA.5 subvariant.

Moderna on Oct. 5 also applied for approval with the health ministry for its own vaccine against the BA.5 subvariant.

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