Manufacturer Moderna has applied to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization for its coronavirus vaccine for children aged six months to five years. The US company announced on Thursday. So far, the Moderna vaccine is only approved for people over 18 in the United States. So far, no corona vaccine has been allowed for young children.
In March, Moderna announced that its vaccine was safe for children aged six months to five years. Twice administration of the preparation causes robust levels of antibodies and is well tolerated, the company announced based on its own studies.
The interim results presented were based on data from a total of 6,700 children. They received 25 micrograms of the vaccine injected at 28-day intervals – a quarter of the dose intended for adults – or a placebo. Despite the lower dose, the immune response was as strong as in adults. We explain here why children react differently to the corona virus than adults.
A vaccine against two variants
Furthermore, the company with its advanced corona vaccine obtained promising results in one study. The bivalent booster vaccine, which targets both the beta variant and the original coronavirus, has achieved a better immune response against a variety of variants of the virus, Moderna said on Tuesday. The vaccine produced higher antibody titers against the omicron variant than the previous normal booster vaccination.
bivalent vaccines immunize against two pathogens or two types of pathogens. However, Moderna does not plan to directly apply for approval of the bivalent vaccine, including the beta variant, according to Jacqueline Miller, a lead scientist at Moderna. The data would be submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to lay the groundwork for a future bivalent vaccine that targets the omicron variant.
Bivalent vaccine Omicron is also being tested
Participated in the study in the USA 300 subjects paper. Moderna has also begun testing another bivalent vaccine that combines an omicron-specific vaccine with the original. The first data on this should be published in the second quarter. “To prepare for the slump, we had to start production at risk,” Miller said. “Our belief is that, based on the data we’ve already observed, the bivalent … offers the best hope for longer, more durable protection.”