KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This week could be a major milestone in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's independent vaccine advisory board will meet Tuesday to discuss possible authorization of Pfizer's vaccine for children ages five to 11.
Parents of children in local vaccine trials are hopeful other parents will get their children vaccinated when the time comes.
Michael and Johanna Kelley enrolled their 2-year-old daughter, Nora, in Pfizer's vaccine trials through Children's Mercy Hospital in April.
"We trust the science, we had the opportunity to understand what the study was going to involve, what they were going to be looking at, how much they were going to be giving her," Michael Kelley said.
Nora's phase of the trials were focused on determining the correct dosage amount. She received two doses of vaccine. Each dose had one-third the amount that adults and older children received.
That one-third dosage is what the FDA's panel will consider authorizing for five to 11-year-old's Tuesday.
"We are excited to see the FDA make this jump because we know how much it means not just for ourselves but also for the countless families that want to get their children vaccinated," Kelley said.
Local pediatrician Dr. Natasha Burgert said there may be some kinks to work out when administering the vaccine because of the different dosage amount.
"We are all eager to get it for our patients if our experts agree that's something we should do, but there will be a little bit of a hiccup at the beginning I anticipate as we attempt to figure out as quickly as we can how to distribute them safely to all of our kids who need them," Burgert said.
Kelley wants other parents to know Nora is doing great. He hopes they'll do their research when it comes time to vaccinate their own kids.
"I want parents to know that talking with your doctors is very important, listen to the experts, research the science, if you’ve done it yourself then it’s OK for you to do it for your children," Kelley said.
