Sinovac claims that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe in children aged 3 to 17, according to preliminary data, and that it has sent them to Chinese drug regulators
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Sinovac said its COVID-19 vaccine is safe in children ages 3 to 17, according to preliminary data, and that it has sent them to Chinese drug regulators.
More than 70 million shots of Sinovac vaccine have been administered worldwide, including China.
China has approved its use in adults, but it has not yet been used in children, because their immune system may respond differently to the vaccine.
Initial and intermediate clinical trials with more than 550 subjects showed that the vaccine would induce an immune response, Gang Zeng, Sinovac’s medical director, said Monday.
Two recipients developed high fevers in response to the vaccine, one 3-year-old and the other 6-year-old. The rest of the trial subjects experienced mild symptoms, Zeng said.
“It is very positive to show that the vaccine is safe and would elicit a potentially useful immune response against SARS-CoV-2,” said Eng Eong Ooi, a professor at Duke NUS School of Medicine in Singapore, who co-directs ‘a Vaccine against covid19. However, he said the data publicly presented by the company was not sufficient to give a conclusive answer about the findings.
Children are much less likely to be seriously ill with COVID-19, but they remain at risk and can spread the virus. And while vaccination campaigns around the world have focused on adults, children will need to be vaccinated to end the pandemic.
The Pfizer vaccine is used from the age of 16 and is being studied between the ages of 12 and 16. Modern has been studying its vaccine in children from the age of 12 and last week announced a new study to test its use in children under 12.
State-owned Sinopharm, which has two COVID-19 vaccines, is also investigating the effectiveness of its vaccines in children. The company said in January it had submitted clinical data to regulators, although it was unclear if it was for a vaccine or both.