Stanford University Tests Pfizer Vaccine for Infants

The smallest research volunteer arrived at Stanford University with his parents on Wednesday to participate in an important study of the COVID-19 vaccine in very young children.

“We want to protect our children from the virus and prevent it from spreading to others if it gets infected,” said Palo Alto’s Ginaida Goode, whose three-year-old son Andel sat still and went home. Told. Play and take a nap. The family’s 7-month-old baby Soren is scheduled for next month’s shot.

The goal of the Stanford Healthcare study, the only place to test the Pfizer vaccine in children under the age of 5 on the West Coast, is to identify the dose with the least side effects and the strongest dose.

As adult vaccinations expand, more and more adults become sociable and, fortunately, no longer wear masks. Currently, about 75 million American adults are fully vaccinated.

But the children remain vulnerable.

According to experts, the lack of adolescent vaccines affects not only individual families, but the general public as well. About a quarter of all Americans are under the age of 18, so the country cannot reach herd immunity without vaccination of young people.

Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases at Stanford University and lead investigator in the study, said:

If the study is successful and the vaccine is approved, “children will contribute to the community’s” field of power “against COVID,” said Dr. Peter Chin Hong, a medical professor and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. It was. I am involved in research at Stanford University. “We need to vaccinate everyone in the population.”

The two fathers, Chin-Hong, said there were additional concerns. A potential child’s vulnerability to new variants.

“COVID is a transforming virus, and there may be variants that could affect young people in the future,” he said. In Michigan, he said, the increase in the UK’s B.1.1.7 variant is probably consistent with the surge in cases of young adults through youth sports.

Initially, children were thought to be almost impervious to the virus. But statistics prove that is not the case.Children are about 13.5% Of infectious diseases in the United States. Thousands of children were hospitalized and nearly 300 died, according to Maldonado.

“I don’t know what the long-term effects of the infection are,” she added.

The vaccine was first tested in adults because older people are more likely to get sick and die and overwhelm the hospital.

Now the attention is shifting to young people. Last month, Pfizer announced that the vaccine was safe and effective for a 12-year-old adolescent. Therefore, the vaccine is currently being tested in much younger children.

Pfizer’s national trials of 144 children will be phased in. It is testing three different doses (10, 20, and 30 micrograms) in bundles of three different age groups. 2-5 years old, 6 months-2 years old. After safety and dosage studies, the study extends to more children looking for signs of efficacy.

Vaccine maker Moderna has also begun a phased trial, with a gradual decline in age from 11 to infants.

Successful results could make the vaccine widely available to teens by this fall, according to Dr. Anthony S. Forch, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Elementary school children and toddlers may have to wait until early 2022.

Pfizer has already requested the US Food and Drug Administration to amend its Emergency Use Authorization to extend vaccine use to adolescents aged 12 to 15 years, about 2.5 million Californians.

Stanford University trials do not include babies under 6 months because the immune system is not fully mature and the antibody depends on the mother’s milk.

The university contacted the family through a Bay Area pediatrician from the Packard Children’s Health Alliance. It still registers potential volunteers.

Goode and her husband, Otabio, strongly believe in the importance of research and data collection, she said.

She has a PhD. He majored in immunology at Stanford University and is currently studying the design of engineering cell therapies to attack cancer. Otávio is a computer programmer and inventor working as a software engineer at Google.

Both have been vaccinated and the whole family is looking forward to a safe day.

“Participating in clinical trials gives children access to the vaccine much faster than waiting for it to be approved,” she said.