Moderna completed enrollment for a Phase 2/3 study of its COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years.
The company has previously predicted that the results will be before the coming school year.
The two-dose jab received emergency use permission in December for individuals 18 years and older. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, also a two-dose injection, was approved weeks in advance for use in individuals 16 years of age and older. Johnson & Johnson filed an EUA request for the use of its one-shot vaccine in individuals 18 years and older, with the decision pending.
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Since initial approval, both Moderna and Pfizer have announced plans to study the vaccine in pediatric patients. Pfizer has since completed the registration for the trial of children aged 12 to 15.
Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, said he believes data on children under 11 will only be available in 2022. The company must first see the data of the trials with 12 to 17-year-olds before it can adapt to the younger population.
Combating vaccine hesitation among adults in the U.S. has been a major point in the country’s rollout, and many question the timeline of development versus the typical years-long process. Top officials, such as dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading expert on infectious diseases, has repeatedly said that technological advances and federal funding make this possible.
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“Vaccinations are important, safe mechanisms that protect individuals and populations from infectious diseases,” the American Academy of Pediatrics said in its interim guidance for the vaccination of COVID-19 in children and adolescents. “Based on existing science, numerous vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have been developed and are currently in clinical trials.”
The group praised the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) process for approval and vaccination recommendations before saying:
“The AAP recommends that everyone aged 16 and over who meets the criteria in phased implementation groups, as recommended by the ACIP, receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”
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It later added that it was “critical that pediatric patients of all ages be admitted to trials as soon as possible.”