Another vaccine for children is ready for approval
Moderna has been shown to be highly effective in trials.
Moderna said its vaccine for adolescents 12 to 17 years old has been shown to be 100% effective in trials. It is the second drug, after Pfizer, to show high efficacy in this age group. Pfizer approved to vaccinate teens in Canada since early May.
"We are encouraged that the vaccine has been highly effective in preventing COVID-19 in adolescents," Moderna CEO Stefan Bansel said in a press release. — We remain committed to doing our part to end the pandemic."
About 4,000 volunteers aged 12-17 years participated in the second phase of the trial. No cases of COVID-19 were detected in the group that received both doses of the vaccine, while 4 participants were infected in the group that received the placebo. The efficacy of the drug after the first dose was 93%.
According to the company, no safety problems have been found with the vaccine, and the side effects are the same as with the adult vaccine. Among the most common are headaches, muscle pain, fatigue, and chills.
Vaccinating children is thought to be critical to ending the pandemic because the population will not achieve collective immunity until enough people have antibodies. It can also accelerate the return to face-to-face schooling and extracurricular activities.
For now, the Public Health Agency of Canada expects to begin phasing out restrictions in the summer, and residents will already be able to return to their pre-pandemic routine in the fall.
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