Moderna Says Its Covid-19 Vaccine Effective In Kids Aged 12-17; Plans To Seek Regulator’s Approval In A Month 

Moderna on Tuesday (25 May) stated that its coronavirus vaccine was effective in children age 12 to 17 years old as per a new study. The development holds significance as the vaccine could potentially become the second option for school-aged children in America, reports Mint.

The vaccine-maker is also reportedly planning to ask health regulators in the United States and other countries early next month to expand the shot's use to this age bracket.

It should be noted that earlier this month, the US and Canada approved the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech SE for those over 12 years of age.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts, company said that the vaccine-induced immune responses among children were comparable to those seen in a study of adults last year, a finding that could clear the way for a second shot for use in adolescents after Pfizer-BioNTech, the Xinhua news agency reported.

There were no cases of symptomatic Covid-19 among vaccine recipients, Moderna said, suggesting 100 per cent vaccine efficacy in adolescents, though overall very few among the 3,700 children in the study got sick.

Based on the results, Moderna said that it plans in early June to request that regulators in the United States and other countries authorize the use of its vaccine in children age 12 to 17 years old.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could make a decision within weeks of the request if it follows the same kind of timetable if took with Pfizer Inc.'s PFE shot. The agency took about a month to clear Pfizer's request for use of its Covid-19 vaccine in adolescents.

Immunizing children is crucial to developing the communitywide immunity needed to move fully past pandemic precautions, health specialists were quoted as saying.

Proof of the vaccines' efficacy and safety for adolescents is helping school officials and other leaders as they plan for the fall. Mayor Bill de Blasio has said that all public school students in New York City, the largest school system in the United States, would return to in-person learning in the fall, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

In December, the FDA authorised the use of Moderna's shot in people 18 years and older, and the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech SE was cleared for 16 and 17 years old, along with adults.

With IANS Inputs