There may soon be another COVID-19 vaccine available for kids 12 and over.
Moderna's clinical trial data demonstrates that its vaccine is safe and highly effective on adolescents. The company on Tuesday said the vaccine appears to be 93% effective at preventing even mild cases in fully-vaccinated adolescents.
Blood tests show Moderna’s vaccine produced an immune response in children equivalent to that in adults, and none of the children over 12 who received the vaccine got sick with COVID-19 after they were fully vaccinated.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who serves as President Biden's Chief Medical Advisor, told CBS News all of this is encouraging for kids and parents.
"So we would expect that children going into high school in the fall will be able to go in vaccinated," he said.
Dr. Mendy Jeter enrolled both of her young children in the Moderna trial.
"I wanted them to be an example, to set an example to say, 'Hey this vaccine is safe,'" she told CBS News.
The reported side effects matched what adults have experienced: headache, fatigue, muscle pain and chills after the second dose.
The announcement comes soon after the CDC reported that it is investigating some rare cases of a form of heart inflammation called myocarditis in teens and young adults soon after they received an mRNA vaccine.
Myocarditis often goes away on its own without complications.
Moderna said it plans to submit its data to the FDA for approval early next month. Currently, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is the only one in the U.S. approved for use in people under the age of 18.
Both Moderna and Pfizer are currently testing their vaccines on children aged six months to 11 years, but those trials are expected to take longer because those age groups may require varying doses.
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