Moderna Moves to Test Vaccine on Children Ages 6 Months To 17 Years Old

On Tuesday,  Moderna announced that the first children in its Phase 2/3 Covid-19 vaccine trial ages 6 months to 11 years had been vaccinated.

The KidCOVE study will recruit approximately 6,750 children between two and six in the United States and Canada.

The trial is divided into two parts. Similar vaccine dosages are being checked on the children in part one. Between the ages of six months and one year, children will receive two doses of the vaccine, spaced approximately 28 days apart, at doses of 25, 50, or 100 micrograms. Children aged 2 to 11 will receive two doses of the vaccine, 50 or 100 micrograms each, spaced about 28 days apart.

These results will be used to assess which dosage will be used in the second phase of the experiment, which will also involve children who will receive a saline placebo, which has no effect. After their second dose, the children will be monitored for a year.

According to the patient information page for the clinical trial, Moderna is conducting experiments to see whether the vaccine prevents children from being ill if they come into contact with coronavirus.

Moderna has also been performing a separate Phase 2/3 study for 12 to 17-year-olds.

The Moderna vaccine is currently only available to people aged 18 and up. The youngest age permitted for any of the three Covid-19 vaccines approved in the United States is 16 for the Pfizer vaccine.

Pfizer has been testing the vaccine on children aged 12 to 15.

Johnson & Johnson has confirmed plans to review its vaccine in children aged 12 to 17, with the company’s CEO predicting that a vaccine for children under the age of 18 will be accepted by September.