Moderna starts COVID-19 vaccine trials on children

By Teddy Grant Published: March 16, 2021

Moderna starts COVID-19 vaccine trials on children

Yvonne Gibbs, 72, receives Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, Jan. 27, 2021, at the TCF Center in Detroit. COVID-19 hit Detroit hard. But fast action by city leaders early in the pandemic may have slowed the rampant advance of the virus among Detroit's largely Black population. Detroit recorded 431 confirmed COVID cases on March 30, 2020, and another 387 two days later, according to the city's Health Department. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Moderna reached a new phase in its COVID-19 vaccine trials on children, the company said in a statement, a significant move to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

The company’s KidCOVE study will enroll 6,750 children between 6 months and 11 years old in the U.S. and Canada, according to CNN.

“We are pleased to begin this Phase 2/3 study of mRNA-1273 in healthy children in the U.S. and Canada,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a press release. “This pediatric study will help us assess the potential safety and immunogenicity of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate in this important younger age population.”

Moderna said the tests would help determine whether children are protected from getting sick if they come in contact with the virus.

Pfizer/BioNTech has started its vaccine trial on children, according to CNN. Johnson & Johnson said it would begin its COVID-19 vaccine trials for people aged 12 to 18.