Kaiser begins Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine trials in children ages 5 to 11

Kaiser Permanente officials announced Tuesday that they are expanding Covid-19 vaccine trials to include children ages 5 to 11 in Oakland, Santa Clara and Sacramento.

The three trial sites on Monday began enrolling roughly 75 children between 5 to 11 years old.

Kaiser’s Vaccine Study Center and Division of Research, both based in Oakland, are conducting the trial in concert with Pfizer and BioNTech, which co-developed the vaccine that will be used in the trial. The Pfizer vaccine is currently the only Covid-19 vaccine approved for minors.

Roughly 4,600 children are participating in trials across the country to determine the vaccine’s safety and efficacy in children under 12.

Vaccine Study Center Director Dr. Nicky Klein said:

“There’s a lot of vigorous interest right now in terms of availability and there’s limited availability (for the study).”

Kaiser’s Vaccine Study Center also participated in the clinical trials to determine the safety and efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine both in adults and children ages 12 to 17.

In the coming weeks, trials are also likely to open for children under age 5, Klein said, as logistics and finer details are still being worked out. Eventually, she said, medical experts intend to recommend that all children receive the vaccine once it is available to them.

On the trial’s current timeline, Klein said Pfizer could submit an emergency authorization for children ages 5 to 11 as early as September, provided the trial’s data shows the vaccine is as safe and effective as it has been for other age groups.

She said:

“It may be around the start of school. … (That’s) probably the best-case scenario, but I think that’s still up in the air.”

Bay City News

Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. © 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.