While 573,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, less than 450 people under the age of 18 have died.
As millions of Americans have been vaccinated and the CDC relaxes mask protocols, Pfizer and Moderna are now holding vaccine trials to see if the vaccines are effective for children, with babies as young as 6 months involved in the trials.
“Children under 18 make up 85 million people in [the] U.S. – about 20% of the population,” Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and population health at Stanford University, told ABC News. “Getting them vaccinated is a major contribution to reducing transmission of virus.”
While the impact of COVID-19 has been much less severe on children, with fewer than 450 deaths of those under the age of 18, children can become infected and transmit the virus to other people.
“It doesn't seem to act the same way as it does in adults and older children, but it definitely does infect them and they can actually transmit to others,” Maldonado said.
The children in the trials will be given two doses of the vaccine – for Moderna, the second shot will be 28 days after the first, and for Pfizer, it will be just 21 days after the first. Scientists hope to test how much of the vaccine children need and can tolerate. There will also be a placebo and treatment part of the trial.
Pfizer's study involves 5,000 children across the U.S. and researchers reportedly plan to follow the children for a year.
