Pfizer begins testing children under 12 in COVID-19 vaccine trial

75756A5E-120A-4932-810C-2FD980DB785E

Pfizer has begun testing in children under 12 for the COVID-19 vaccine Thursday.

That means children who are ages six-months-old to 11 years of age. At least 144 children will be enrolled in the first phase of the trial, according to CNBC.

The results from the trial, which included a pair of twins as the first participants, will be available later this year.

Both Pfizer and Moderna have already been testing participants over the age of 12 - those results will be available soon.

“Pfizer has deep experience in advancing clinical trials of vaccines in children and infants and is committed to improving the health and well-being of children through thoughtfully designed clinical trials,” the company said in a statement to CNBC.

Moderna, which is one of the vaccines approved to be used in the United States, also started testing the vaccine for those under age 12 earlier this month.

The twin girls were immunized at Duke University in North Carolina on Wednesday, according to The New York Times.

"AstraZeneca last month began testing its vaccine in children six months and older, and Johnson & Johnson has said it plans to extend trials of its vaccine to young children after assessing its performance in older children," the New York Times reported.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Syringes with doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) COVID-19 vaccine are seen at the vaccination hub in the military citadel of Cecchignola, on March 25, 2021 in Rome, Italy. At the request of the European Commission, Italian security forces discovered 29 million does of the AstraZeneca vaccine at a Catalent factory. Meanwhile European public trust dwindled with reported side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine, a prosecutor in Italy is investigating possible manslaughter after a naval office died hours after being inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)