Moderna requests authorization to vaccinate children under 6 years of age against COVID-19 in the United States

American biotech company modern declared Thursday that it submitted an application for authorization in the United States so that its vaccine against COVID-19 It can be administered to children aged between six months and less than six years.

Children under the age of six are the only age group that has so far not had access to anticovid vaccines in the United States and in many other countries.

“We believe that (this vaccine) will be able to safely protect these children against SARS-CoV-2which is so important in our ongoing fight against COVID-19 and will be especially welcomed by parents and caregivers,” CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement.

In March, modern announced the results of a study that showed the two-injection regimen was safe and produced a strong immune response.

It was determined that two 25-microgram doses given to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers produced similar levels of antibodies as two 100-microgram doses given to 18- to 25-year-oldsthereby achieving similar levels of protection against severe cases of the virus.

The test included 4,200 children between the ages of two and six and 2,500 babies between the ages of six months and two years.

However, the company found relatively low efficacy in dealing with infection. The efficacy of the vaccine in children from six months to two years was 51%, and 37% in the age group from two to five years.

modern He said he is currently studying booster doses for children of all ages.

However, the lower efficacy of the two doses may present an obstacle to authorization.

In February, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) postponed an expert group meeting to study Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children under five, saying it wanted to see data on performance of the three doses before studying the matter.