(Reuters) -Pfizer Inc and its partner BioNTech SE said on Tuesday that they had submitted an application to the U.S. health regulator for the emergency use authorization of their COVID-19 booster shot among children aged 5 to 11 years.
The companies earlier this month reported data from a mid-to-late stage study showing a 10-microgram booster dose of their vaccine protected against the original coronavirus version and the Omicron variant among children in the age group.
It is unclear how much demand there is for a third vaccine dose in the age group.
Just 28% of children aged 5 to 11 years – around 8.2 million – are fully vaccinated, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There has also been some skepticism on the need for boosters in younger children given the reduced risk of severe infection and hospitalization in the age group.
The primary two-dose COVID-19 shot from Pfizer and BioNTech was authorized in the United States for children 5 to 11 years in October.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Aditya Soni)
