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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Before new medications hit the market, adults are almost always researched before kids. That’s no different with the COVID-19 vaccine.
WCCO talked with Dr. Gary Berman, who is leading the only group in Minnesota conducting COVID vaccine trials with kids right now at the Clinical Research Institute in Minneapolis.
“So far everyone’s doing great. Maybe some arm soreness, maybe some redness, occasional fever, everything what we would expect so far,” Berman said.
READ MORE: Vaccine Recipients Report ‘COVID Arm’ And Other Side Effects, But Doctors Say Don’t Worry
Since December, hundreds of teenagers have been given Moderna’s COVID vaccine at a medical office in Minneapolis.
“For every three people that participate in our study, two of them get the vaccine, so one gets the placebo,” he said. “We’ve done over a 1,000 trials in allergy and asthma, and I’ve really never seen so much interest in any of the trials that we’ve done.”
Berman says the child has to agree to participate, not their parents. Right now, Moderna’s vaccine can be used on those 18 and up. Its trial for 12- to 18-year-olds has 3,000 participants. Pfizer’s vaccine is authorized for people 16 and older. It’s currently testing 2,300 12- to 15-year-olds.
(credit: CBS)
Dr. Kawsar Talaat runs vaccine trials at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
“Hopefully we’ll have some data in the next couple of months,” Talaat said.
She expects the drug companies to submit their applications for teenagers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration later this spring.
“Until the vaccine is much more widely available, until the adult priority groups — or the high-risk groups — have been vaccinated … we’re not going to be vaccinating a lot of teenagers,” Talaat said.
READ MORE: Couple Separated By COVID Pandemic Still Cherish Every Day Together, Albeit Separated By Glass
She says it “would be wonderful” if teens could get vaccinated before school starts in the fall. Trials for 5- to 11-year-olds will start next. Dr. Talaat thinks we’ll see that data in late fall.
“It’s possible that the young children might not get the vaccine until next year,” she said.
When it comes to the dosage size for children, Dr. Berman says that has yet to be determined yet.
“That’s part of what the next study will be all about,” Berman said. “Research is a process … you gotta do it one step at a time.”
Dr. Berman is also in talks with Moderna to run a vaccine trial for 5- to-11-year-olds. Keep an eye on his website if your family is interested.
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