Children under age 12 in the U.S. will have to wait until at least October to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, according to a Business Insider report.
Children under 12 make up roughly 15 percent of the country’s population, said the outlet. As of the release of a 2019 Pew Research Center study, most students in the country started their school year before Sept. 9.
Listen to your favorite News/Talk station now on Audacy.
Both Pfizer and Moderna, companies that produce two-dose vaccines approved for use in the U.S., began testing their vaccines for use in children under 12 in March, said Business Insider. Pfizer’s trial includes 4,500 children in two age groups and Moderna’s includes three age groups with 2,265 participants each.
Pfizer is expected to submit data for the 5 to 11-year-old age group to the Food and Drug Administration at the end of September and to have vaccines available for that group in October at the earliest, if trial results allow. Shortly after, Pfizer hopes to offer vaccines for children ages six months to 5 years.
Related
Pfizer vaccines have already been approved for use in vulnerable children between 5 and 11 years old in Isreal, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Moderna does not expect to seek authorization for its under-12 vaccines until winter.
While the FDA approved Pfizer’s vaccine for individuals aged 12 to 15 in May, Moderna is still waiting on authorization for its vaccine to be used for this age group after submitting data in June.
Related
Johnson & Johnson, which manufactures single-dose COVID-19 vaccines, is not expected to release an option for people under 17 years old until next year.
According to Business Insider, children will probably receive smaller doses of the vaccines than have been administered to adults. This could help reduce side effects; children have been more vulnerable to them due to their active immune systems.
Dr. Ashish K. Jha of Brown School of Public Health said the best way to keep infection rates down in the under-12 population until they can get vaccines is for adults to get vaccinated.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram