joining us now, nbc s molly hunter in london and a doctor at the hospital for center security. molly, you just got back from a rare interview with the two founders of biontech in germany of course where the pfizer/biontech vaccine was created. what s the headline? reporter: hey, chris. that s right. look, first, pretty incredible to meet them. it was an opportunity to say thank you. but we had a couple big questions going in. we asked them of course about the pending fda approval for those two doses for kids. they said they were excited about the two doses and definitely need a third dose coming down the pipeline for that more complete coverage just like the adult dosage. we also asked them, chris, about variant-specific vaccines. we asked them how quickly they could actually turn a new vaccine around after the detection of the new variant. take a listen. i think we understand how this virus operates.
the adult dosage. joining us now, dr. freda fisher, certified in peed pedia, nephrology and internal medicine. would you vaccinate your own child between the ages of 5 and 11 and under what circumstances would you not. i would and i will. i have two children who are between the ages of 5 and 11 and now that we have this authorization and i have reviewed the data and i know that the cdc and fda have rigorously scrutinized the day , i will absolutely as soon as the cdc approves getting my environment approved. all children between the ages of 5-11 were found to have great results. safety profiles were wonderful you, minimum side of effects, great efficacy. you want to consult with your pediatrician. this will helps us contain the pandemic. arthel: cdc director dr.
advisory panel on vaccines voted to recommend the pfizer vaccine for kids. kids ages 5 to 11. a vote was 17 to 0 in favor of that recommendation. one person on the panel stain from the vote. they are recommending a two dose series of the pfizer vaccine, for kids. two doses, three weeks apart. it is a smaller dosage than the adult pfizer shots, each shot will have about a third as much as the adult dosage does. in terms of what s next, the fda ethan entity will decide if it takes the panels recommendation and go ahead with the approval, they probably will, but we will see. the cdc will weigh in as an entity and make a decision all in all, it s starting to look like a covid vaccine could be available for kids aged five and up, as early as this next
series of the pfizer vaccine for kids. two doses three weeks apart. and it is a smaller dosage than the adult pfizer shot. each will have a third as much as the adult dosage does. in terms of what s next, the fda will decide whether it s going to take the panel s recommendation and go ahead with their approval. they probably be, but we ll see. then the cdc will make their recommendation. all in all, it is starting to look like for the first time the covid vaccine could be available for kids age 5 and up as early as this week. dr. david kepler is a former fda commissioner, he s a chief science officer for the white house covid-19 response. and we have been very fortunate to have him join us periodically at big moments like this in the fight against the pandemic. dr. kessler is also a pediatrician as well. particularly lucky to have him here tonight. doctor, it s great to see you.