Moderna Plans to Expand COVID Vaccine Clinical Trial to Children Under 12

U.S. drug manufacturer Moderna plans to expand the clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine to younger children later this year or early next year.

The New York Times first reported that Pfizer and Moderna plan to include 3,000 children ages five to 11-years-old. The outlet cited unnamed sources who also say the figure is double the original study participants initially planned.

In a statement to CNBC, Pfizer declined to provide any updates regarding details of the trial. But Moderna confirmed it does indeed intend to expand the clinical trial. The company did not give the number of children, only that the data will be used to detect potentially rare side effects. 

“It is our intent to expand the trial, and we are actively discussing a proposal with the FDA,” Moderna wrote in a statement to CNBC. “At this point, we expect to have a package that supports authorization in winter 2021/early 2022, should the FDA choose to use the authorization avenue.”

At this time, Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine is the only one available for children aged 12 and older. Moderna’s vaccine is expected to be made available for children as young as 12 soon. This comes as many parents are ready for their kids to get vaccinated ahead of their return to in-person learning in the fall.

President Joe Biden took an optimistic approach on a timeline for when children under will be eligible to receive the vaccine. Although not saying when he did say “soon.” Top infectious disease doctor Anthony Fauci estimated that it would happen later this year.