Pfizer to expand COVID vaccine study in children under 12

Pfizer has announced that it will begin large-scale testing of its COVID-19 vaccine after selecting a lower dose of the jab in the Phase I study.

The expanded trial will enrol up to 4,500 children at more than 90 clinical sites in the Us, Finland, Poland, and Spain.

Based on safety, tolerability, and the immune response generated by 144 children in the Phase I study of the two-dose shot, Pfizer said in a statement that it will test a dose of 10 micrograms in children between 5 and 11 years of age, and 3 micrograms for the age group of six months to five years old.

A Pfizer spokesperson said the company expects data from 5- to 11-year-olds in September and would likely ask regulators for emergency use authorisation later that month. Data for children aged between two to five years old could arrive soon after that, with data from the six-month to two-year-old age group being announced sometime in October or November.

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has been authorised for use in children as young as 12 in Europe, the US, and Canada, receiving the same dose as adults, 30 micrograms.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 7 million teens have already had at least one dose of the vaccine in the US.

Inoculating children and young people is considered a critical step toward reaching "herd immunity" and taming the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kat Jenkins