(WXYZ) — According to experts, vaccinating children is key in the fight against the coronavirus and reaching herd immunity. There are currently four vaccines being tested in kids.
Both Pfizer and Moderna have ongoing clinical trials.
Pfizer’s vaccine was recently authorized for adolescents 12 and up. And their efficacy rate for this age group is outstanding, it’s 100%. But when will their vaccine be ready for younger kids?
Well, by mid-September Pfizer expects to submit an application to the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization for kids between the ages of 2 to 11. They also plan to submit again in November, for kids 6 months to 2 years.
As for Moderna, their clinical trial for kids 12 and up also revealed a high efficacy rate, at 96%. They’re currently in discussion with regulators concerning amending their emergency use authorization to include this younger age group. But as to when this will happen, no date has been set.
Moderna also has phase 2/3 trials underway for kids 6 months to age 11. Over 6,000 are being enrolled and the trials will look at different dosing for different ages. But again, no details as to when we can expect preliminary data.
The two other companies are Johnson & Johnson and Novavax. Both their trials include kids 12 to 17 years of age.
J&J started enrollment back in April for their phase 2a trial. They’re starting with a small group before enrolling more kids.
As for Novavax, they have a phase 3 trial underway and are aiming at enrolling 3,000 adolescents.
Now Novavax is the only one of the four companies I mentioned that has not received emergency use authorization for its vaccine for adults. And no details have been released as to when they’ll be ready to apply.
Now, while this is all exciting news, I know there are concerns. I’ve had quite a few parents ask me if vaccines affect infertility. And the answer is no. The evidence we have firmly shows that the vaccines do not affect fertility or cause infertility.
Now, I’m an advocate for getting children vaccinated. Because more and more children are getting COVID. And they can get very sick, be hospitalized and hundreds have died. So I believe we should protect our kids and get them vaccinated when we can.
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