Approval for Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for kids 6-11 could come by Christmas

NOW: Approval for Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for kids 6-11 could come by Christmas
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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -  Moderna announced Monday, Oct. 25, its COVID-19 vaccine for kids 6-11 is highly effective.

This comes as Pfizer's vaccine for children ages 5-11 is expected to be approved for emergency use authorization this week. Moderna said children in the study showed a similar antibody response to what is seen in adults after taking the two-dose series.

"This is really good news," Dr. William Hartman said.

Dr. Hartman is the principal investigator for the UW Moderna pediatric COVID-19 vaccine trial. He said the children in his trial have tolerated the vaccine well and have experienced only mild side effects.

"We do see the occasional headache and soreness in the arm, but we haven't seen any severe effects at all," he said.

Kids in this age group get half the dosage approved for adults. The two shots are taken one month apart. Moderna has not yet released the effectiveness of its vaccine, but Dr. Hartman expects the company to submit it to the FDA within the next month.

"Hopefully before Christmas this shot will be available," Dr. Hartman said.

In the meantime, 28 million children in the U.S. may be just days away from being able to get the Pfizer vaccine.

"It's entirely likely, if not very likely, that vaccines will be available for children 5 to 11 within the first week or two of November," Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

The FDA advisory committee is taking a look at the company's data Tuesday to recommend it for emergency use authorization. Pfizer reported its vaccine is 91 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in kids 5 to 11.

Dr. Hartman said Moderna also started recruiting for its COVID-19 vaccine trial in kids ages 2-5 last week.

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