Pfizer and BioNTech reported Friday that studies show children aged between 2 those younger than 5 did not produce an adequate response to its COVID-19 vaccine for young children and that it will begin administering a third dose to those trial participants as studies continue.

In a press release, Pfizer noted that the dose for young children, which is one-tenth the strength of its vaccine for people aged 16 and up, provided the same amount of protection the adult vaccine provides to people aged 16 to 25. However, children aged between 2 and 4 did not produce an adequate response.

"Compared to the 16- to 25-year-old population in which high efficacy was demonstrated, non-inferiority was met for the 6- to 24-month-old population but not for the 2- to under 5-year-old population in this analysis," Pfizer's press release said.

The third shot for children aged 2 to 4 will be administered at least two months after the final shot.

The company added that trials so far had not produced any safety concerns. They noted that the trial studies would remain double-blinded when adding a third dose.

Pfizer made the announcement Friday, the same day that it announced it would be seeking full authorization for the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents as young as 12.

Pfizer's vaccine is fully approved for people as young as 16, and available through emergency use authorization for kids as young as 5.

Pfizer and BioNTech on Friday announced that they had asked the Food and Drug Administration to grant full approval to their COVID-19 vaccine for use in adolescents as young as 12.

The companies added in a press release that they would also file similar applications with the European Medicines Agency and "other regulatory authorities around the world" in the weeks ahead.

The Pfizer vaccine is already available for adolescents under emergency use authorization, though the shots have been granted full FDA approval for everyone aged 16 and up.

Pfizer's vaccine remains the only anti-COVID-19 shot to receive full FDA approval. Moderna applied for full approval for its COVID-19 vaccine for use in adults in August, though the agency is still weighing the application.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 83% of Americans aged 12 and older have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. About 71% of those 12 and older are fully vaccinated.

WASHINGTON — The FDA on Friday issued emergency approval for a smaller dose version of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children aged 5 to 11.

The agency's decision comes just days after the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 17-0 (with one doctor abstaining) to recommend the shots.

"The tremendous cost of this pandemic has not just been in physical illness, it's been in the psychological the social development of children," said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the FDA.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is scheduled to consider the shots early next week. The agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices must first give its own recommendation before agency director Dr. Rochelle Walensky gives final approval.

Officials estimate that the vaccines could be available to children as early as the first or second week in November.

Last week, the White House said that if and when Pfizer's vaccine receives full emergency use authorization, it would begin shipping 15 million vaccine doses to clinics around the country for immediate distribution.

Biden Administration officials say the country currently has enough doses on hand to vaccinate every child aged between 5 and 11 that lives in the U.S. The White House says that it will primarily lean on primary care doctors and pharmacies to distribute the vaccines but noted that it is also working with some school boards to offer doses in schools.

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine has been fully approved by the FDA for everyone aged 16 and up. The shots are also available for adolescents between the age of 12 and 15 on an emergency use basis.

Marks said the FDA is "probably a few months" away from reviewing data for COVID-19 vaccines for younger children.

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education will consider making a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory among district staff.

The board's Policy and Equity Committee Thursday morning advanced the proposal to the full board. As proposed Thursday, the policy would require all district employees to receive one of the three available COVID-19 vaccines. The would-be deadline for employees to receive those shots was left unclear Thursday morning, as the full board still needs to consider the policy. Staff would have the option to apply for an exemption from the policy.

The measure will go to the full board for discussion next month.

The committee's ruling came days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval status to Pfizer's two-shot COVID-19 vaccine for people 16 years and older, with Moderna also in the process of applying for full FDA approval. According to Ohio law, school districts cannot require vaccines that are not FDA-approved.

Board member Eve Bolton said the decision could risk losing district staff but that it's worth the risk.

"People will quit, and we will lose staff, and I am willing to do that," Bolton said during Thursday's committee meeting.

Committee members stopped short of discussing specifics about requiring the vaccine for students old enough to meet the FDA approval's parameters, but Bolton said she'd be interested in the administration exploring the idea.

The full board of education will consider the policy at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 13.

Members of the White House COVID response team say vaccinations are ramping up with six million people getting a shot in the past seven days. 

But while vaccinations are up, so are COVID case numbers and hospitalizations 

Officials are urging local leaders and private companies to enact more vaccine mandates now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full FDA approval.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has said we could see the beginning of the end of the pandemic next spring – but added vaccines are the best way to get there.

"Rather than focus on the situation of getting a specific timeline, I would like to appeal to this country – to the people in the country who are not vaccinated – to realize that we have the capability among ourselves to essentially cut down the time frame to getting the end of this pandemic very, very clearly by just listening to everything you have heard on this press conference," he said. "Get vaccinated and the time frame will be truncated dramatically."

This story was originally reported on Newsy.com.

HONG KONG — Hong Kong has suspended vaccinations using Pfizer shots after the Chinese distributor informed the city that one batch had defective bottle lids.

The government says the suspension is immediate while the matter is investigated by Fosun Pharma and BioNTech, the German company that created the vaccine with American pharmaceutical firm Pfizer.

Government officials say they haven't found any evidence the shots were unsafe but suspended their use as a precaution.

The semi-autonomous territory of Macao also says its residents will not receive the Pfizer vaccinations from the same batch.

More than 150,000 people in Hong Kong have received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

The suspension leaves only China's Sinovac vaccine for use in Hong Kong.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Some doctors think there will be a need for a third COVID-19 vaccine "booster" shot.

"At some point, I think it's very likely," said UC San Diego Chief of Infectious Diseases Dr. Davey Smith. "When that point is, I don't know."

A lot is unknown about the need for a booster shot, as the vaccines have only been around for six months. That's barely given researchers time to determine how long they provide complete protection against COVID-19.

Dr. Smith says it's a process that can take years.

"We follow a whole bunch of people who got a vaccine, we measure their immune responses, and then we look and see how often people are getting infected over time," he explains.

"Once we start seeing more infections below a certain level (of antibodies), then we're like, okay, so if somebody has this level of antibody and it dips below that, then perhaps we need a booster at that point," said Dr. Smith.

But measuring antibodies may not be the only indicator of the need for a booster. As the pandemic continues, doctors discover new mutations and variants of COVID-19. There is a strong possibility one of those variants could be resistant to the vaccine, requiring a booster.

"Some of the mutations might be able to evade the immune protection," said Sharp Chula Vista Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Hai Shao. "As a result, our neutralizing antibodies needs to be tweaked, to be made specifically against the new variants of viruses so that the level of protection can be modified and sustained."

Dr. Shao compares it to the flu, where the yearly vaccine includes several variants. He believes there may be a need for that type of vaccine for COVID-19.

"The likelihood is high," Dr. Shao said. "The question is when do we need the first booster, and how often do we need it after that."

In separate interviews last month, the heads of both Pfizer and Moderna said their vaccines would probably need booster shots. They did not specify when.

Current studies show the vaccines offer protection for at least six months and are effective against all known variants.

Research beyond that is ongoing.

In the meantime, Dr. Shao and Dr. Smith say everyone must get their initial doses of the vaccine to help achieve herd immunity.

"It is important for us to focus our attention and make sure that people who have not gotten the vaccine yet get it in time," said Dr. Shao.

"When you get a vaccine, you're protecting your community," said Dr. Smith. "I really want to get that message out."

This story was originally published by Jared Aarons at KGTV.