Moderna begins study of COVID-19 vaccine in kids
Moderna Inc has begun dosing patients in a mid-to-late stage study of its COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, in children aged six months to less than 12 years, the company said on Tuesday.
The study will assess the safety and effectiveness of two doses of mRNA-1273 given 28 days apart and intends to enroll about 6,750 children in the United States and Canada.
The vaccine has already been authorized for emergency use in Americans who are aged 18 and older.
In a separate study which began in December, Moderna is also testing mRNA-1273 in adolescents between 12 and 18 years old.
The latest study is being conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
U.S. drug distributors urge govt to boost COVID-19 vaccine supply network
U.S. drug distributors urge govt to boost COVID-19 vaccine supply network
Three major U.S. drug distributors have requested the government to expand the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain network as the country strives to immunize its population against the novel coronavirus as quickly as possible.
AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and Henry Schein Inc in a letter urged officials to develop a plan of action aimed at identifying ways to move the vaccines safely and quickly to administrators and vaccination sites.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, to whom the letter was addressed, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The companies said on Monday the existing healthcare network, including pharmacies, doctors’ offices, hospitals and other healthcare providers, will need to be activated to achieve herd immunity against the virus.
Reuters first reported in January that Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen Corp were in talks with federal officials about increasing the number of companies shipping coronavirus vaccines as part of the Biden administration’s push to speed up inoculations.
The U.S government in February authorized Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, making it the third vaccine to become available in the country, after those developed by Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc received authorization late last year.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Additional reporting by Carl O’Donnell in New York; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
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