Children's Hospital of Philadelphia says it will take part in a national COVID-19 vaccine trial that pharmaceutical giant Moderna is conducting on children 12 years old and younger.
"Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) was recently chosen as a site for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine trial in children," a spokeswoman for the hospital said in a statement Wednesday. "CHOP has not yet started to enroll patients and will work with Moderna to do so safely over the coming weeks."
CHOP declined to provide further details, but in Moderna said in release Tuesday that their study called "KidCOVE" has already begun and will analyze the effectiveness of company's "vaccine candidate" on young children.
Moderna was the second pharmaceutical company to get emergency authorization use of vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and its vaccination doses continue to be used at sites across the country, including in the Philadelphia region.
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"This pediatric study will help us assess the potential safety and immunogenicity of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate in this important younger age population," the Moderna press release said.
The study aims to eventually enroll about 6,750 children in the U.S. and Canada. That’s after a phase-in portion to determine the best dose to test in children age 2 and older and the right dose in those younger than 2.
Moderna also has tested the vaccine in 12- to 17-year-olds but hasn’t yet released the findings. The study in younger children will be more complex, because researchers need to determine whether to use smaller doses than in adults and adolescents.
