Children are unable to be vaccinated against COVID-19, but that may soon change.
Moderna has started testing a vaccine designed to be used on children between the ages of 6 months and 11 years, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The first group of children has received the treatment in a study being conducted by Moderna in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a group in the Department of Health and Human Services, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“This pediatric study will help us assess the potential safety and immunogenicity of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate in this important younger age population” Moderna Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel said in a news release.
The study is being conducted in Arizona where 750 children will be enrolled, KNXV reported.
It is being conducted as an open-label study in which participants know they are getting the two doses of the vaccine. Then the children will go through a series of tests. Those overseeing the tests are expecting to see similar results as have been seen in adults, including some of the same side effects like chills, fevers and sore arms that should all go away in the days after the vaccine is administered.
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The study will eventually be expanded to 6,000 children where half will get the vaccine and the other half will get a placebo, KNXV reported.
Parents whose children are eligible for the trial are hopeful that their children will be protected against COVID-19.
Rachel Guthery told KSAZ that she wanted to sign up her three children as soon as she heard about the trial.
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“The risks are so minuscule compared to what the benefits are,” she said.
The study will last a few months and then the data will be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for final approval for emergency use in all children in the age group.
There are eight study sights in the U.S. with Phoenix being the first to start, KSAZ reported.
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