Here are some more details about the safety profiles for each one:
Pfizer vaccine: Pfizer enrolled 4,500 children in its
clinical trials. For those ages 5 and under, 1,678 children received two doses three weeks apart and then a third dose at least two months after the second dose. The vaccine was well tolerated and there were no new safety issues signaled; the majority of side effects were mild or moderate.
Moderna vaccine: The company enrolled approximately 11,700 children ages 6 months to 12 years in their studies, including 6,700 under 6 years old. All children received two doses of the vaccine, 28 days apart.
According to data from the company, the majority of side effects (for the group under 6 years of age) were mild or moderate and mostly reported after the second dose. No new safety concerns were identified.
With both vaccines,
there were no cases of myocarditis or pericarditis, conditions that involve inflammation of the heart muscle and surrounding tissue. These conditions are known, but rare, risks for young men who receive the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Yale Medicine physicians discuss the authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for children under age 5.
www.yalemedicine.org