The first batch of young children in the its pediatric trial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have already been given their initial jabs, announced company officials.
According to an NBC News report, the worldwide study of around 144 participants will investigate if the vaccine can yield an immune response in kids and identify the proper dosage for each age group in the said trial which includes six months to two years; two years to five years; and, five years to 11 years old.
The trial, together with similar studies that other COVID-19 vaccine makers Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, among others are conducting, aims to guide how the injections should be administered to young children. Kids are considered the population not thought to be the most susceptible to COVID-19 but can be infected and transmit the virus.
During the first phase of the trial, three different vaccine dosages: 10 micrograms, 20 micrograms, and 30 micrograms will be tried in each age group, starting with the oldest, Pfizer explained.
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Pediatric Trial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
In individuals aged 16 years and above, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is administered in two doses of 30 micrograms with a three-week interval.
The findings from Phase 1 will determine the dosage level used for later stages of the trial. During phases 2 and 3, the company is set to study if the vaccine can induce an immune response, how well the jabs are tolerated in every group, and monitor for side effects, as well as other safety issues.
As indicated in the company's announcement, the later phases of this pediatric trial will be expanding to comprise roughly 4,500 children in the United States and Europe.
Participants for the trial will be selected randomly to be given the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or a safe-to-use placebo.
According to the company officials, participants for this pediatric trial will be monitored for six months from the time of vaccination.
School Children's Eligibility for COVID-19 Vaccine by 2022
In their original Phase 3 vaccine trial, Pfizer and BioNTech registered more than2,200 children aged 12 to 15 years old. The two companies are expected to release the results from that trial soon.
Earlier this month, the National Institute of Allergy of Infectious Disease Director Anthony Fauci, who's also the country's top infectious disease expert, said that high school students in the US need to be able to receive vaccines by fall.
On CBS's Face the Nation, Fauci said they project that "high school students will very likely to be able to be vaccinated by the fall term," maybe not the very first day although certainly, in the early part of the fall season.
The health expert forecasted that grade school children would be qualified for the vaccine in the first quarter of 2022 following the completion of investigations on safety.
In December, Moderna began with its trial of children aged 12 to 17 years old. Last week, the company announced its participants were already given their first doses in Phase 2 and Phase 3 of its trial in young children aged six months to 11 years old.
Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson is set to examine its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine in 12- to 17-year-old children, and the company announces too that it intends to eventually test its vaccine in infants and even newborns.
The AstraZeneca-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which is not authorized for use in the US, is being tried in six- to seven-year-old children.
A related report is shown on CNBC Television's YouTube video below:
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