The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Moderna vaccine apparently up to 100 percent effective in 12 to 17 year olds

2021-05-26T10:49:38.645Z


The US company Moderna wants to apply for approval of its corona vaccine for older children and adolescents in June. According to information from SPIEGEL, a study shows a high level of effectiveness and tolerance.


Enlarge image

A boy is vaccinated with the Biontech vaccine in Florida (archive image)

Photo: Paul Hennessy / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

The vaccine from Moderna protects children and adolescents between twelve and 17 years of age, according to the company, up to 100 percent from Covid 19 disease. The US biotech company confirmed to SPIEGEL on Tuesday that the vaccine could also prevent individual Covid symptoms in connection with a positive PCR result. A review of the data from the so-called TeenCOVE study by independent scientists is still pending.

According to the data, 3732 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 took part in the study in the United States. They were randomly assigned to two groups: two-thirds of the participants had received two doses of 100 micrograms each of the vaccine mRNA-1273, and one-third had received a placebo preparation with no active ingredient. After two vaccinations, there was no Covid 19 disease in the study group; four participants in the placebo group were infected. The company states that the protection against Covid-19 is 100 percent.

However, because children and adolescents contract Covid-19 much less often than adults and often only develop individual symptoms, the company also examined whether the vaccine also protects against mild symptoms. The risk of only one Covid-19 symptom in connection with a positive PCR test decreased by 93 percent. "Above all, it is gratifying that the Moderna vaccine can also protect against Sars-CoV-2 infection," said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, in a statement. "We will submit our data to the FDA and regulatory authorities around the world at the beginning of June and apply for approval."

Overall, the vaccine was well tolerated by the participating children and adolescents, and there were no serious side effects. After the first vaccination, the test subjects mainly complained of pain at the injection site; after the second dose, headaches, fatigue, muscle pain and chills often occurred. "Security data will continue to be collected and the study will continue to be monitored by an independent security monitoring committee," the company said. "All participants are observed twelve months after the second vaccine dose to check safety and long-term protection."

As part of the KidsCOVE study, Moderna is also investigating whether its vaccine can also protect children between six months and eleven years from Covid-19.

The trial is currently in the phase II study.

In Germany, no vaccine has yet been approved for children and adolescents.

In the USA, for example, the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine has already been approved for children and adolescents between the ages of twelve and 15 after the FDA examined study data.

Until then, the approval was only valid for people aged 16 and over.

Biontech has also applied for approval for children and young people between the ages of twelve and 15 from the European authority Ema.

Moderna's mRNA-1273 vaccine has been approved in the European Union for people aged 18 and over since January 6th.

The vaccine is also injected into the upper arm; the second dose is given four to six weeks after the first dose.

Immunity can be expected 14 days after the second vaccination.

The data from adults had shown that the double vaccination 100 percent protects against severe courses.

A Covid 19 disease in general could prevent the vaccination to 94 percent.

Those who are vaccinated rarely pass the virus on, but infection cannot be ruled out.

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2021-05-26

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.