American national public health institute Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated that a COVID-19 vaccine may not be recommended right off the gate for kids due to the lack of clinical information at present on how the potential cure works on young ones.
Children who rarely exhibit severe COVID-19 symptoms have been so far not included in any stages of clinical trials conducted by any vaccine developer to date. All of the on-going vaccine trials for a potential COVID-19 vaccine have been focused on non-pregnant adults, which could change over time as drugmakers diversify with their trial pool for future examinations.
Also Read: COVID-19 vaccine trials on children should resume immediately: Oxford
The US-based pharmaceutical firm Pfizer will reportedly include kids as young as 12 who are capable of passing on the virus to high-risk groups in its late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trial. AstraZeneca, the team behind the much anticipated Oxford COVID-19 vaccine has also expressed its intention to include children between five to 12 in its large trial.
Pfizer and AstraZeneca are just two among several other leading drug manufacturers who are in their last stages of COVID-19 vaccine trials across the globe with some positive outcomes expected by the end of the year.
CDC observed that any vaccine candidate will be first used under the US Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization and will be in limited supply until the new year.
The authority added that the initial supply and administration will be limited to certain groups which would be recommended for the vaccine shot such as health workers and first responders in the country as recommended by an independent expert panel set up by US health officials.
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