Moderna's First COVID-19 Vaccine Jab For Kids, Administered For Study

As the company analyses the safety and effectiveness of its COVID-19 jab on kids aged 6 months to 12-years-old, children have received their first doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.

Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine Trial

Researchers will administer 2 injections of either Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine jab or a saline placebo to infants and children over a 28-day period as part of the company's study on its safety and effectiveness.

Children who will receive the vaccine are set to get one of thee possible doses: from 25 micrograms to 100 micrograms -- the exact same doses that previously received emergency authorization for adults from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The New York Times reported that the first children to receive vaccination doses will receive the lowest doses in order for organizers to watch for side effects before administering higher doses on other children.

Moderna aims to enroll about 6,750 pediatric participants in the US and Canada for the study, taking place in at least 8 states, from Arizona and California to South Carolina and Texas.

Moderna Jab for Pediatric Patients

Currently, Moderna's COVID-19 jab is authorized only for adults aged 18 and older. After pediatric participants receive the shots for the study, researchers will be monitoring and analyzing any signs of difficulty that may arise from the vaccine, as well as the safety and effectiveness in safeguarding children against SARS-CoV-2.

In order for researchers to closely monitor the COVID-19 vaccine's effects, doctors from Moderna will check in with the families via 2 telemedicine visits after each dose, followed by a monthly check-up. Parents are also asked to make diary entries of any symptoms or side effects they may observe on their smartphones.

The pediatric study is being coordinated by Moderna with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a year after adult participants first received Moderna's vaccine jab during initial clinical trials last March.

Pfizer-BioNTech, one of the vaccines authorised for emergency use in the US is also currently testing the safety and effectiveness of their vaccines on children. The company is set to study the effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine jab on children aged 12-15 years old, stating that it has been able to enrol 2,259 participants for the study.

Jerica Pitts, Pfizer's director of global media relations states that the pharmaceutical company intends to share data and findings of the study during the first half of 2021. Adding that Pfizer has yet to begin a separate pediatric study for its COVID-19 vaccines that would focus on children below the age of 12-years-old.

In a statement by Moderna on its new COVID-19 study, the company did not provide an update on its efforts to test its vaccine jabs in people from 12-18 years old.

However, a representative of the company tells NPR that the company is closely working on a study assessing the effects of the COVID-19 vaccine on adolescents. Announcing trials in December, Moderna has met its enrollment target of 3,000 participants, says the company's representative.

Check out more news and information on COVID-19 on Science Times.