Moderna's SARS-CoV-2 vaccine prompts a strong immune response among children between the ages of 6 and 11 years old, the New York Times reports.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna's vaccine, dubbed Spikevax, for adults 18 years old and older in February, and a booster dose and a third full dose of the vaccine are available under an emergency use authorization. But currently, only Pfizer's SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is authorized for children and teens, and no vaccine is available for children under the age of 5.
Now in a study appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from Moderna and elsewhere report data from an ongoing phase 2/3 trial that indicates that two doses of the Moderna vaccine — half the dose given to an adult — could induce immune responses in children between 6 and 11 years old. Those antibody levels, the Times notes, were slightly higher than what is generated in young adults.
The Times adds that Moderna asked the FDA on Monday to authorize the use of its vaccine in this age group. The company previously asked the agency for an EUA for its vaccine for very small children between 6 months and 6 years old and for adolescents. The Times notes that while other countries have allowed the Moderna vaccine for adolescents, the FDA review appears to have stalled.