Moderna announced Monday that a low dosage of its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and looks to function in 6- to 11-year-olds, joining competitor Pfizer in pushing for vaccines to be made available to youngsters.
Pfizer’s vaccination doses for children are getting closer to being widely used. They’re being tested by the Food and Drug Administration for kids in the same age range, 5 to 11, and may be ready as early as November. The company’s vaccine is already approved for everyone aged 12 and up.
Moderna hasn’t received approval to provide its vaccine to teenagers yet, but in the meanwhile, it’s testing lesser dosages in younger youngsters.
Researchers examined two injections for children aged 6 to 11 years old, each of which carried half the amount given to adults and were administered a month apart. According to preliminary findings, vaccinated youngsters produced virus-fighting antibodies at levels comparable to those produced by young adults following full-strength vaccinations, according to Moderna.
The vaccination or sham injections were given to 4,753 youngsters aged 6 to 11 in the research. Vaccinated children, like adults, had transient side effects such as weariness, headache, fever, and injection site pain, according to Moderna.
The research was too small to detect any exceedingly unusual adverse effects, such as heart inflammation, which can occur after receiving either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccinations in young men.
Moderna hasn’t provided any more information and hasn’t submitted its findings to a scientific publication, but it has stated that it would shortly discuss interim results with the FDA and worldwide authorities. The trial is still ongoing, and the business won’t be able to determine if the vaccine is beneficial in preventing infections in children until there are enough COVID-19 cases to compare rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
Although other countries have approved Moderna’s vaccines for teenagers, the FDA has yet to rule on the company’s proposal to expand its immunizations to 12- to 17-year-olds.
However, if the FDA approves low doses of the Pfizer vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds, the United States is set to begin vaccinating youngsters under the age of 12 next month. Even as the extra-contagious delta form spread rapidly, Pfizer stated last week that its kid-size dosages were roughly 91 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in that age range.
In a public hearing on Tuesday, FDA officials will consider Pfizer’s evidence. If the government approves Pfizer’s child vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will suggest who should get them the following week.
