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Moderna jab 'safe in young children'

China to start vaccinating children to age 3 as cases spread

Published : Tuesday, 26 October, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 705

WASHINGTON, Oct 25: Moderna Inc said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine generated a strong immune response and was generally well-tolerated in children aged six to 11 years, and the company plans to submit the data to regulators soon.
Moderna said its two-dose vaccine generated virus-neutralizing antibodies in children and safety was comparable to what was previously seen in clinical trials of adolescents and adults. "We are encouraged by the immunogenicity and safety profile of mRNA-1273 in children aged 6 to under 12 years and are pleased that the study met its primary immunogenicity endpoints," chief executive Stephane Bancel said in a statement.
Data from clinical trials with more than 4,700 children in the age range "demonstrate strong immune response ... one month after the second dose," Moderna said in the statement.  The results come after Pfizer said last week that its Covid vaccine was 90 percent effective in preventing symptomatic disease among children aged 5-to-11.
The Food and Drug Administration has called an advisory panel of independent experts to meet Tuesday to vote on whether to green light Pfizer's shot. Overall, more than 150 children aged 5 to 11 have died from Covid in the United States since the start of the pandemic, according to official data.
The administration of President Joe Biden has said it stands ready to roll out shots for the country's 28 million 5 to 11-year-olds as soon as a vaccine is authorized by science agencies.  Moderna said majority of the side effects in the trial, which had 4,753 participants, were mild or moderate in severity, with fatigue, headache, fever and injection site pain the most common.
The vaccines used in the trial were 50 microgram doses, half the strength used in the primary vaccine series for adults. The 50 microgram dose is also authorized for use as a booster shot.
Meanwhile, Children as young as 3 will start receiving COVID-19 vaccines in China, where 76% of the population has been fully vaccinated and authorities are maintaining a zero-tolerance policy toward outbreaks.
Local city and provincial level governments in at least five provinces issued notices in recent days announcing that children ages 3-11 will be required to get their               vaccinations.
The expansion of the vaccination campaign comes as parts of China take new clampdown measures to try to stamp out small outbreaks. Gansu, a northwestern province heavily dependent on tourism, closed all tourist sites Monday after finding new COVID-19 cases. Residents in parts of Inner Mongolia have been ordered to stay indoors due to an outbreak there. The National Health Commission reported 35 new cases of local transmission had been detected over the past 24 hours, four of them in Gansu. Another 19 cases were found in the Inner Mongolia region, with others scattered around the country.    -AFP, AP








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