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Ochsner announced Monday that he has started enrolling children aged 5 to 11 for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in New Orleans and Shreveport, expanding efforts to protect as many people as possible from the new coronavirus.
At 8 a.m. on Monday, the hospital chain said it had already received its first participant in an 18-month trial to test the effectiveness of the two-dose vaccine to prevent COVID-19.
Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine is already approved under an emergency use provision for people aged 12 and older, and health experts say testing injections on younger children is essential for bring the pandemic under control. Children under 12 will receive a lower dose of the vaccine, in the same way that other vaccines are reduced for pediatric use.
“Children are definitely different, and we need to make sure they respond to the vaccine,” said Dr Julia Garcia-Diaz, director of clinical infectious disease research at Ochsner Health.
When children as young as 12 were allowed to receive the Pfizer vaccine in mid-May, it was hoped they could give Louisiana a much needed boost i …
Unlike previous vaccine trials, participants would have a 75% chance of receiving the actual vaccine instead of a placebo. Children who received the placebo will be able to receive the real vaccine after six months.
Preliminary data from Pfizer’s 12- to 15-year-old study showed the vaccines were 100% effective in preventing COVID-19 in the 2,260 children who received it. This is compared to about 95% of adults in previous trials.
For children, the side effects of the injections appeared to be similar to those of other age groups, with some people experiencing fatigue, mild flu-like symptoms, and pain at the injection site.
Although young children are much less likely to develop severe symptoms of COVID-19 compared to adults, doctors in Louisiana have historically seen cases of children developing complications, including a rare and serious inflammatory condition known as name of multisystem inflammatory syndrome. Although it is not well understood, MIS does impact the heart and other vital organs. It proved fatal in Louisiana, as well as in other states.
“Although children are much less likely to contract serious illness, it can happen,” said Ochsner Pediatric System Director Dr William Lennarz. “As parents, we should all want our children to be protected against this infection just as we protect them against (whooping cough) and tetanus and polio.”
Nationwide, about 300 children have died from complications from COVID-19, including eight in Louisiana, according to state and federal data.
Pfizer and BioNTech began testing their vaccine on children 6 months to 11 years old in March. If approved by the federal government, the expanded immunization regime would be a crucial step in controlling the pandemic, as children make up about a third of the nation’s population.
Moderna has also tested its two-dose vaccine on young children nationwide and in Louisiana.
Pfizer plans to seek full approval for its COVID-19 vaccine for people 16 years of age and older and plans to seek emergency use authorization for children ages 2 to 11 in early fall, company executives said on an earnings call in May.
The first results of trials on young children could be available this summer.
Ochsner says he expects to register around 75 at the two trial sites in Louisiana, New Orleans and Shreveport.
Parents and guardians interested in the trials can contact the health channel by email at: [email protected].
The Louisiana Department of Health plans to open the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to children aged 12 to 15 on Thursday.
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