Moderna is going to ask regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to approve the use of its smaller-dose COVID-19 vaccine for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.
Early study results found that little kids developed high levels of virus-fighting antibodies from shots containing a quarter of the dose given to adults. Competitor Pfizer is testing smaller doses for children under five, but had to add a third shot to its study when two didn’t prove strong enough. Those results are expected by early next month.
Vaccine expert Dr. Omar Khan with the University of Toronto says the early trial results offer hope for those who are hoping to get jabs in their kids’ arms.
“First is that the trials that were done on young children were done when Omicron was around and they showed that it had good protection against infection. But what was really good is that the people who were vaccinated didn’t seem to have any severe disease,” he explained.
“It’s great that children didn’t develop severe disease but also, lovely to see that there’s a reduction in infection in general, which is very good.”
Early results from Moderna’s study has found children under six developed high levels of virus-fighting antibodies from shots containing a quarter of the dose given to adults — though it was less effective against the Omicron variant than prior mutations.
The vaccine provides the same level of protection against COVID in young kids as it does in adults. We think that’s good news,” Dr. Stephen Hoge, Moderna’s president, told The Associated Press.
Children under the age of five are essentially the only group in Canada not eligible for a vaccine at this point.