Pfizer, Moderna shares slump as US govt plan to link Covid vaccines to child deaths: Report

Mumbai: Shares of US pharma giants fell over 3 per cent following reports indicating that the US health administration officials intend to associate coronavirus vaccines with the deaths of 25 children.

Pfizer’s stock declined by over 3 per cent, Moderna’s fell by more than 7 per cent, and Novavax decreased by more than 4 per cent overnight.

The selloff occurred after reports indicated that the claim will be presented next week to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine advisory panel, which determines US immunisation policy.

The American health officials plan to cite paediatric deaths flagged in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a federal database of unverified self-reports regarding vaccine side effects, according to a report by The Washington Post.

The CDC has cautioned that VAERS alone cannot prove a causal link between vaccines and deaths.

Career scientists expressed alarm at the government’s plan as they say studies indicated that Covid vaccines are safe for children, while the risks associated with the virus are being downplayed.

The CDC data from June revealed that at least 25 children died following Covid-related hospitalisations since July 2023, and none of the vaccine-eligible children were up to date on their shots.

The Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP) will convene next week to assess new claims and revise vaccine recommendations.

Multiple paths are being considered, with one being to restrict younger adults without preexisting conditions from routine vaccination.

In response, Moderna said its vaccine safety is ‘rigorously monitored’ by regulators in more than 90 countries with no new safety risks identified in children or pregnant women.

A recent study by JAMA Pediatrics, which included over 10 million children aged 5 to 11 who were vaccinated with the mRNA shots from Pfizer and Moderna, claimed that the shots reduced the risk of infection and hospitalisation in vaccinated children, compared to kids who didn’t get vaccinated.

IANS