Good Housekeeping: When will kids get COVID-19 vaccines? Experts share a timeline to keep in mind

UC expert says COVID-19 vaccines for kids could be ready this spring

Good Housekeeping turned to Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, of the UC College of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases as an expert source for a story on when parents can expect to see COVID-19 vaccines available for their young children. COVID-19 vaccination trials for adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 and younger children are well underway. Early results suggest vaccines could be 100% effective in younger teens, according to new reports.

Dr. Fichtenbaum and Jassiel HIV study in lab.

Carl Fichtenbaum, MD, of the UC College of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases/Photo/Colleen Kelley/UC Creative + Brand

Fichtenbaum said enrollment periods for the necessary safety trials in children may already be full for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines specifically.

"Because both manufacturers have fully enrolled their numbers of children from 12 to 16, it should be soon that they'd accumulate the antibody data and preliminary information on efficacy," Fichtenbaum says. "I would expect that Pfizer may submit for a summertime emergency use authorization (EUA) at the latest; Moderna enrolled about 3,000 children between 12 and 18 in February, so I would expect a similar timeline."

Fichtenbaum says that any company seeking approval for vaccine use in children will be looking to collect data through "Day 57," if not longer: "Once they've reached that point in time, they'll be able to go to the FDA... Bottom line is that Pfizer's EUA application may come quite soon, as they have the data. Moderna may look closer to May or early June."

Read the full story here

Fichtenbaum was also interviewed by WCPO-TV on why it is important for college students to get vaccinated for COVID-19. See that coverage here

Lead image/NNDanko

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