Moderna is Now Giving Children the COVID-19 Shot as Part of Study

During the race to get everyone vaccinated, Moderna made a huge announcement on Tuesday revealing their first pediatric patients have been given the COVID-19 shot.

The pharmaceutical company says this is Phase 2/3 of its trials. This one involved testing children ages 6 months to 11, otherwise known as KidCOVE. Pretty soon they will be enrolling 6,750 U.S. and Canadian children to partake in the study. Moderna says this will be vital in helping them understand the effects of their vaccine on the younger population.

...evaluate the safety, tolerability, reactogenicity and effectiveness of two doses of mRNA-1273 given 28 days apart.

The trial will consist of two parts and the first one will test the dose levels each child will receive, ranging from 25 micrograms to 100 micrograms. This will determine the amount to be used in the second part of this study, which compares the test group to a placebo group.

Researchers will stay in contact with the children who were vaccinated for a total of 12 months after their second shot. Parents will also be required to keep a digital journal on their child over the year.

The statement from Moderna says they feel confident that with this current Phase 2 study and the previous, Phase 3 which tested adults 18 and up, they will able to find out whether the COVID vaccine protects the young kids when exposed to the coronavirus.

Moderna is collaborating with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

According to NPR, Pfizer is already testing their vaccine on young teens 12 to 15 with plans to test kids under 12 soon. Johnson & Johnson has similar plans in the near future.