COVID Vaccine for Kids Could be Authorized by September, Says Fauci

Children as young as first graders may be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by September, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told ProPublica. This fact is dependent on the success of the trials in those age groups. 

When can my child get vaccinated?

“We’re in the process of starting clinical trials in what we call age de-escalation, where you do a clinical trial with people 16 to 12, then 12 to 9, then 9 to 6,” Fauci told ProPublica. When asked what was the youngest age group that might be authorized for the vaccine by September, he said, “I would think by the time we get to school opening, we likely will be able to get people who come into the first grade.”

Vaccinating children would help the country as a whole reach herd immunity, in addition to keeping kids safe and restoring stability to the education system. Despite the urgency for safety of vaccinating children, Pfizer is currently the only manufacturer whose pediatric vaccine trials are far enough along to potentially have the data needed by the end of the summer.

Who would produce the vaccine for children? 

Pfizer is the furthest along in its pediatric trials, having just finished enrolling trial participants in its study of 12- to 15-year-olds. A spokeswoman for Pfizer said the brand expects to have data in “the early part of 2021." Moderna is still enrolling participants in a trial for adolescents ages 12-18 and expects to see data "around mid-year 2021," according to the company. Johnson and Johnson has not begun pediatric studies yet. AstraZeneca plans to begin tests in 12- to 18-year-olds next month, according to Bloomberg news.