Moscow, Europe Brief News – Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) has obtained US authorization its COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of 6, which would make it the first shot against the coronavirus available for those under 5-years-old.
Very young children are the only group that are yet to be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in the US and in most countries, a source of concern for many parents.
“We believe [this vaccine] will be able to safely protect these children against SARS-CoV-2, which is so important in our continued fight against Covid-19 and will be especially welcomed by parents and caregivers,” the company’s CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement.
In March, the company announced results from a trial that showed the two-shot regimen was found to be safe and produced a strong immune response.
Specifically, two doses of 25 micrograms given to babies, toddlers and preschoolers generated similar levels of antibodies as two doses of 100 micrograms given to young people aged 18-25, indicating there would be similar levels of protection against serious cases of the virus.
“The children under the age of six are now the largest unvaccinated group in the American population,” Dr Phil Landrigan of Boston College told The Associated Press. “They’re a pool where the virus can continue to spread and then infect older people who are more at risk. So it’s very important.”
Side effects in the trial were generally mild and consistent with those seen in older age groups. The company did, however, find relatively low efficacy, with its trial taking place during the Omicron variant wave.
Vaccine efficacy in children six months up to age two was 51 percent, and efficacy was 37 percent in the two to five years age group, when limiting the analysis to only cases confirmed positive on a positive PCR test.
