US FDA staff says Moderna Covid vaccine effective and safe for children

U.S. Food and Drug Adminration staff reviewers on Friday said Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine appears safe and effective for use in people aged 6 months to 17 years old as a committee of scients will meet next week to vote on whether to recommend the regulator authorize the vaccine in children.

The FDA’s reviewers said in briefing documents published on Friday evening that the vaccine had generated a similar immune response in the children than that observed in adults in previous trials.
“Available data support the effectiveness of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in pediatric age groups from 6 months through 17 years of age,” the FDA staff said.
The FDA staff also said the vaccine generally had a similar side effect profile in children as seen in adults, although younger children had fevers more frequently.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
Buy Now | Our best subscription plan now has a special price
Some countries in Europe have limited the use of Moderna’s shots for younger age groups after some studies showed that it was tied to a higher risk of myocarditis – a type of heart inflammation.

The FDA said myocarditits is a known risk associated with the vaccine, but that the drugmaker’s pediatric trials were not large enough to quantify the frequency of the rare heart inflammation in pediatric age groups.
(Reporting Michael Erman in New Jersey; editing Grant McCool)
📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!