Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies at a Senate Health Care, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, USA
Kevin Dietsch | Reuters
The U.S. could start vaccinating older children against Covid-19 this fall, while children of lower age could start shooting early next year, Dr. White House medical officer Anthony Fauci told lawmakers Wednesday.
“For high school students, it looks like they will be available to be vaccinated at the beginning of the fall, probably for the fall period,” Fauci told lawmakers during a hearing with the House Committee on Energy and Trade.
According to Fauci, researchers are likely to have enough information about vaccinations for younger children – 12 and younger – to give shots in the first quarter of 2022.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the vaccines from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s for people 18 years and older, while Pfizer’s vaccine can be used on people as young as 16 years old.
Medication manufacturers quickly test their coronavirus vaccines in children to determine if they are safe and effective. Both Pfizer and Moderna began testing their vaccines in teens late last year.
Moderna said Tuesday that younger children began dosing in a mid-to-late-stage study to determine if the vaccine, mRNA-1273, could be used to immunize children between six months and 12 years old. The study, which will enroll approximately 6,750 children in the United States and Canada, will test the two-dose vaccine given 28 days apart.
However, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in January that he did not expect information from children under 12 to be ready before 2022, although he expected more information on the vaccines to be available by September 12.
“I do not think the trials will last at all,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee, told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” on Tuesday.
“I think it’s very likely for children older than 12 that we can have vaccinations for them by the summer, and for children who are younger, it’s possible we can get it by the end of this year, beginning next year,” Offit said.
A Pfizer spokesman was not immediately available to comment on the progress of vaccine testing in younger children.