The timeline for a COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for children under the age of 12 was initially set for fall 2021.
Some parents want to know how much longer they will have to wait for their children to get in line for a shot. Dr. Bruce Rankin Medical Director of Accel Clinical Research has spent decades studying vaccines and is currently conducting vaccines trials in children ages 12-17.
“It still takes time, these people have to be brought into the trial under parental guidance and they have to be followed over a period of time to see what the incidence is of not only side effects but how effective it has been,” Rankin said.
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He said a lot of data must be gathered on top of at least three months of observation before the federal government green-lights a COVID-19 vaccine for approval.
“It’s similar to the adult trial, we need to go through all the steps, no steps can be skipped, and we have to make sure we have the right dose, right frequency of dose and we also have to know that it continues to be safe like we find in the adult groups.”
Rankin said there are several steps that must be completed and studied during the vaccine trial process.
“The number of doses and also the strength of the doses, so if you are at a certain amount on the adult dose, say 30 micrograms, you may drop it down to 10 micrograms for the 6-to-12-year old’s,” he said.
While it may take time Rankin said this is an ongoing progress.
“Coronavirus illness is a new illness we got science there, we do the same processes with all the other vaccines, we have just compressed time because people are getting very ill with this.”