ATLANTA — Emory University and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta are looking to enroll children between the ages of 6 months and 12 years old for a clinical trial of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.
The trial will use the same vaccine authorized in December for use with all adults in the U.S., under an emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“This is a critical step for children which could make it possible for them to receive the same type of immune protection now provided to adults,” said Dr. Evan Anderson in a press release from Emory. Anderson is an attending physician at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory and the study site principal investigator for the trial.
Anderson has been involved with overseeing Emory's previous COVID-19 vaccine trials.
Moderna is looking to enroll a total of 6,000 pediatric participants in its trials covering several age groups, but information on how many will be enrolled in Atlanta hasn't yet been released.
A similar trial by Moderna of children 12 to 17 years old began in December and is fully enrolled.
During the upcoming trial of younger children, participants will receive two doses of the vaccine about 28 days apart.
The child must be in "good health," and must not have received any COVID-19 vaccine or currently be taking any related treatment. They also cannot have tested positive for the virus or been in contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 within 2 weeks of receiving the vaccine or participated in another trial in the past month.
As part of the trial, the child will be asked to come to the study site up to six times. They will also have telemedicine visits following each injection and monthly check-ups to monitor for symptoms.
Parents will also be asked to use a smartphone app to keep a diary to report any symptoms.
Interested parents or guardians can contact the Emory Children's Center: ecc.vaccine@emory.edu.