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Dr.Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Work and Pensions (HELP) on Capitol Hill in Washington, United States
Kevin Dietsch | Reuters
The United States could start vaccinating older children against Covid-19 this fall, while elementary-aged children could start being vaccinated early next year, the chief medical officer said on Wednesday. White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci to lawmakers.
“For high school students, it looks like they’ll be available for vaccination in early fall, most likely for the fall term,” Fauci told lawmakers during a hearing with the Energy Committee. and Chamber trade.
Fauci said researchers would likely have enough data on immunization of young children – 12 and under – to start giving them vaccines in the first quarter of 2022.
The Food and Drug Administration has cleared Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines for people 18 years of age and older, while Pfizer’s vaccine can be used in people as young as 16 years old.
Drugmakers are rapidly testing their coronavirus vaccines in children to determine if they are safe and effective. Pfizer and Moderna began testing their vaccines in adolescents late last year.
Moderna said on Tuesday he had started assaying younger children in an intermediate to late-stage study to determine whether his vaccine, mRNA-1273, could be used to immunize children aged six months to 12 years. The study, which will enroll approximately 6,750 children in the United States and Canada, will test the company’s two-dose vaccine given 28 days apart.
However, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in January that he did not expect data for children under 12 to be ready until 2022, although he anticipated more information on the data. vaccine performance in 12 years and over before September.
“I don’t think the trials will last long at all,” Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory board, told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” Tuesday.
“I think it’s very likely for kids over 12 that we can get vaccines for them by the summer, and for younger kids it’s possible that we can get it from. here the end of this year, early next year, ”Offit said.
A Pfizer spokesperson was not immediately available to comment on the company’s progress in testing its vaccine in young children.
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