European agency is first to clear Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 12 to 17
In a decision on Friday, the EU drug regulator said research in more than 3,700 children aged 12 to 17 showed that the Moderna vaccine -- already given the OK for adults across Europe -- produced a comparable antibody response.
With global vaccine supplies still tight, much of the world still is struggling to immunize adults, and agencies including the World Health Organization have urged rich countries to donate their doses to the developing world -- where fewer than 2 per cent of people have been vaccinated -- rather than moving on to inoculate their less vulnerable populations.
In the U.S., children represent about 14 per cent of the nation's total coronavirus cases to date. And while the young are far less likely than the old to get seriously ill, at least 344 children have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. alone, according to a tally by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Both Pfizer and Moderna have begun testing in even younger children, from age 11 down to 6-month-old babies. These studies are more complex: Teens receive the same dose as adults, but researchers are testing smaller doses in younger children. The first results from elementary school-aged children are expected in September.
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