Pfizer and BioNTech shares higher premarket as vaccine approval planned for young children

Three vaccinations generated strong immune responses and high effectiveness, said the Mainz-based biotech company BioNTech and the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer on Monday. The two partners published the first results from their phase 2/3 clinical study in children aged six months to less than five years. According to this, a good 80 percent efficacy against symptomatic COVID disease was observed after the third dose, while the highly contagious omicron variant prevailed. The vaccinations were well tolerated and the side effects were mild to moderate.

BioNTech and Pfizer plan to complete their application for approval with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week. Further applications in the European Union and worldwide are to follow in the coming weeks. So far, the vaccine has only been approved for use in children over the age of five in the EU and the USA. You will receive two doses like teenagers aged 12 and over and adults, but at a lower dose. The dosage for children under the age of five is again significantly lower and, at three micrograms, corresponds to one tenth of the adult dose.

In pre-market trading on the NYSE, Pfizer shares temporarily gained 0.61 percent to $52.79, while BioNTech shares were temporarily up 2.00 percent on the NASDAQ at $166.26.

Frankfurt (Reuters)

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