Now that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is moving towards the approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, researchers want to determine if children can get vaccinated as well. The current move towards the Pfizer vaccine approval doesn’t include children. In response, Upstate Medical University in Syracuse is looking for young volunteers to take part in a COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial.
The emergency authorization the FDA is considering only applies to vaccines given to adults 16 years or older. Upstate Pediatrics Professor Joseph Domachowske says it needs to be determined if the vaccine is safe for children, even though they often aren’t symptomatic.
"They [children] shed virus and they can infect other people,” Domachowske said. “So it’s important to include them in clinical vaccine trials from a community perspective -- to make sure they’re not just protected themselves, but they are protected from transmitting the infection to someone else, not even knowing they are sick.”
Upstate is looking for about 100 participants between the ages of 12 and 15 to take part in the randomized study. One of the key things they’ll look for, according to Domachowske, is if dosages should be lowered for younger patients.
"Generally vaccines work better for children than adults,” Domachowske said. “But there may be higher rates of certain side effects, especially local injection site types of side effects that could justify changing the dose.”
Domachowske said once those safety and efficacy questions are answered its likely the emergency use authorization could be extended to younger ages.
“I don’t see that happening until late summer or fall at the earliest in 2021,” said Domachowske.
