Moderna needs more teens for COVID-19 vaccine trial

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday that more than 30 million Americans have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

About 25 million people have received one shot and another 5 million have received both required doses in the United States.

Now that the vaccine is rolling out to more Americans, researchers are turning their attention to younger patients. Studies are firing up to focus on a safe vaccine for children as young as 12 years old.

Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine trial for 16- and 17-year-olds. Since then, the company has had enough volunteers sign up to begin the trial.

Moderna still needs about 3,000 teenagers to volunteer for its COVID-19 vaccine trial. They are searching for teenagers from 12 to 17 years old. Anyone interested in this trial can find more information here.

Adolescents are typically not among the most serious cases of COVID-19, however, studies show they can still spread the virus to high-risk individuals. Since they make up about about a fifth of the U.S. population, it’s important for them to get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, doctors say.

“It is really important that we have COVID-19 vaccines available for children,” Norton Healthcare’s Dr. Kris Bryant said. “Children make up 22 percent of the population, so if we really want to get control of the virus, ultimately we’re going to need to be able to vaccinate children.”

On Monday, Bryant explained to WAVE 3 New Now how the coronavirus could affect teenagers and children, what to expect with the vaccine trial, and when it could be available to them.

https://www.wave3.com/2021/02/01/moderna-needs-more-teens-covid-vaccine-trial/