Will children be able to get COVID-19 vaccines?

THE ROAD AHEAD. BOB: PITTSBURGH PARENTS SEEING COVID-19 VACCINE NOW HERE FOR FRONT LINE WORKERS MIGHT WONDER, HOW CLOSE IS COVID-19 VACCINE FOR KIDS? DR. JUDITH MARTIN, CO-DIRECTOR OF PITTSBURGH VACCINE CLINICAL TRIALS AT UPMC CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF PITTSBURGH, SAYS COVID-19 VACCINES FOR KIDS AREN’T APPROVED YET. FIRST THEY HAVE TO BE STUDIED FOR SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS FOR CHILDREN. >> THE DOSE MAY NEED TO BE DIFFERENT IN ADOLESCENT PATIENTS AND MAYBE EVEN DIFFERENT IN THE SCHOOL AGE PATIENTS VERSUS THE TODDLERS. BOB: WHAT DOES SHE SEE AS THE TIMELINE FOR STUDY TRIALS OF COVID-19 VACCINES FOR KIDS? >> MANY OF THESE STUDIES ARE PLANNING TO BEGIN IN LATE WINTER, EARLY SPRING. SOME OF THEM ARE PLANNING FOR EARLY SUMMER. BOB: PFIZER HAS BEGUN TWO COVID-19 VACCINE TRIALS FOR KIDS 12 TO 15 AND 16 TO 17. ANOTHER BIG QUESTION FROM PARENTS, WILL KIDS’ VACCINES ARRIVE IN TIME FOR BACK TO SCHOOL NEXT FALL? >> I THINK THE GOAL WOULD BE TO HAVE PERHAPS THESE VACCINES, AT LEAST SOME OF THEM, AVAILABLE PRIOR TO THE FALL OF 2021. BOB: MARTIN SAYS THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AND OTHER SPONSORS HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH PITT AND UPMC. >> WE ARE HOPEFUL TO BE A SITE FOR PEDIATRIC STUDIES, BUT WE WILL HAVE TO SEE HOW IT GOES. TESTING OF COVID-19 VACCINES FOR KIDS WILL TAKE IT STEP-BY-STEP. >> THEY’LL FIRST ESTABLISH THAT IT’S SAFE AND FIND THE DOSE, SAY DOWN TO AGE 12 YEARS OF AGE, AND ONCE THEY DO THAT THEY’LL GO TO THE NEXT AGE GROUP. ONCE THEY FIND THAT, THEN THEY’LL GO TO THE NEXT LOWER AGE GROUP. SO THEY DO IT IN INCREMENTS.

Related video: COVID-19 vaccine and childrenWill children be able to get COVID-19 vaccines?Not until there’s enough data from studies in different age groups, which will stretch well into next year.The Pfizer vaccine authorized in the U.S. this month is for people 16 and older. Testing began in October in children as young as 12 and is expected to take several more months. The Food and Drug Administration will have to decide when there’s enough data to allow emergency use in this age group.Depending on the results, younger children may be enrolled for study as well.Moderna, which is expected to become the second COVID-19 vaccine greenlit in the U.S., began enrolling study participants ages 12 to 17 this month, and will track them for a year. Testing in children younger than 12 is expected to start in early 2021. It is uncertain if the results on younger children will come in time for vaccinations to begin before the next school year.Positive outcomes in adult studies are reassuring and suggest it is safe to proceed in testing kids, said Dr. Buddy Creech, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University and director of its vaccine research program.Even though children usually don’t get very sick from COVID-19, they can spread the virus to others, said Dr. Robert Frenck, who is the lead researcher for Pfizer’s study in kids at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. At least 1.6 million youth have been infected, 8,000 have been hospitalized and 162 have died from the virus, he noted.“It’s really important, not only for themselves but also for society,” Frenck said.

Related video: COVID-19 vaccine and children

Will children be able to get COVID-19 vaccines?

Not until there’s enough data from studies in different age groups, which will stretch well into next year.

The Pfizer vaccine authorized in the U.S. this month is for people 16 and older. Testing began in October in children as young as 12 and is expected to take several more months. The Food and Drug Administration will have to decide when there’s enough data to allow emergency use in this age group.

Depending on the results, younger children may be enrolled for study as well.

Moderna, which is expected to become the second COVID-19 vaccine greenlit in the U.S., began enrolling study participants ages 12 to 17 this month, and will track them for a year. Testing in children younger than 12 is expected to start in early 2021.

It is uncertain if the results on younger children will come in time for vaccinations to begin before the next school year.

Positive outcomes in adult studies are reassuring and suggest it is safe to proceed in testing kids, said Dr. Buddy Creech, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University and director of its vaccine research program.

Even though children usually don’t get very sick from COVID-19, they can spread the virus to others, said Dr. Robert Frenck, who is the lead researcher for Pfizer’s study in kids at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. At least 1.6 million youth have been infected, 8,000 have been hospitalized and 162 have died from the virus, he noted.

“It’s really important, not only for themselves but also for society,” Frenck said.

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