JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Only teens ages 18 and up are authorized to get the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. However, that could soon change after a trial the pharmaceutical company is beginning this week.
For the first time, kids under 12 years old are being vaccinated in a trial.
Moderna said it is vaccinating 6,750 kids in the United States and Canada.
UF Health Told Action News Jax it is participating in the trial (Moderna Announces First Participants Dosed in Phase 2/3 Study of COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate in Pediatric Population | Moderna, Inc.).
In a news release, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said, “The pediatric study will help us assess the potential safety and immunogenicity of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the important younger age population.”
The trial will include kids six months old to 11 years old.
UF Health said it’s still unclear how many kids in northeast Florida will be part of the trial, but they are still learning the details.
Action News Jax Medical Expert Dr. Michelle Aquino said Moderna already tested kids ages 12 and up.
>> More information on the COVID-19 vaccine
This will be the first study for children this age and she’s hopeful there could be results as early as this summer.
“We’re hoping that we’re going to get back to a new normal and hopefully come August when school starts again for the new year, our kids will be vaccinated,” she said, adding that kids are also key to herd immunity.
Not all parents are on board, though, and would like to get more information.
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“I would not right now. I have to wait a little bit more,” Esmerillda Llazarin, a Jacksonville mom of two, said.
Once Action News Jax learns how local parents can sign up for this opportunity, we will update this web story.
For more details on Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine study for children, click here.
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