African nations queue up for COVID-19 vaccines from AU
- by Emilio Sims
- in Money
- — Feb 14, 2021
The trial will begin this month at the university and additional sites in London, Southampton and Bristol, Sky News reported.
300 volunteers will take part in the research in the United Kingdom to assess whether the coronavirus vaccine will produce a strong immune response in children aged between six and 17.
Oxford University has announced plans to test its co-developed COVID-19 vaccine on children to determine the safety and immune response of the shot in young people, Deutsche Welle News reports via the Associated Press.
Up to 240 children will receive the vaccine and the others will get a control meningitis jab.
Profs. Andrew Pollard a senior researcher at Oxford said that although Covid-19 rarely effects children, it is very important to know the effects should be researched since some kids may benefit from the vaccine.
The trial of Covid-19 vaccines on Bottom of Form children began at the end of previous year after the safety and efficacy concerns of the frontrunner vaccines had been established in adults.
Pollard said the Oxford trial should help policymakers decide whether at some point in the future they want to extend mass vaccination programs to children as they seek to ensure schools are safe and combat the spread of the virus in the wider population.
The 2-dose Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has been hailed as a vaccine for the world because it is cheaper and easier to distribute than some of its rivals.
In October a year ago, U.S. drugmaker Pfizer began testing its shot in children as young as 12 while Moderna began trials on children in December. It's a concern that some professional groups are also voicing in Italy and Spain, even though AstraZeneca says its vaccine offers high levels of protection against severe disease.
