Pfizer is testing its Vaccine for covid-19 in children under 12, according to press reports.
On Thursday (March 25), the company announced that it had started a small trial of its vaccine in children aged 6 months to 11 years, according to CNBC. Pfizer, which developed its injection in partnership with BioNTech, plans to enroll 144 children in the Phase 1 trial, with the aim of finding the right dosage for children of different ages.
The company expects to have the results of this trial in the second half of 2021, and the vaccine could be authorized for children under 12 in early 2022, according to The New York Times.
The Pfizer trial will test three different doses of the vaccine: 10, 20 and 30 micrograms per injection, according to the Times. (The dose of Pfizer for adults is 30 micrograms per injection, according to CNBC.) The doses will be tested first on children aged 5 to 11, then 2 to 4 and finally from 6 months to 2 years, reported the Times.
As soon as Pfizer determines the appropriate dose for each age group, the company will start a test on 4,500 children; two thirds will receive the actual injection and one third will receive a placebo. This trial will monitor the children’s immune response to the vaccine, as well as look for side effects.
Earlier this month, Moderna announced that it had started a trial of its COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 6 months to 11 years, Live Science previously reported. AND Johnson & Johnson also plans to test its COVID-19 vaccine on children and babies.
Both Pfizer and Moderna are already testing their photos on older children. (Pfizer has a test on children 12 to 15 years old and Moderna has a test on children 12 to 17 years old.
Recently, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he projects high school students in the United States to be vaccinated in the fall and elementary and high school students in the first quarter of 2022, according to CNBC.
Originally published on Live Science.