Pfizer is awaiting data from its ongoing pediatric COVID-19 vaccine trials, including one underway at Rutgers University in which 100 children ages 5 to 12 are enrolled and another 100 children between 6 months and 5 years old. Soon, more participants in the older age group will be added after the Food and Drug Administration urged vaccine makers to expand trials to better detect rare side effects, including heart inflammation.
Nine-year-old Justin Do, a trial participant, said he’s proud to be included: “So I can be protected from COVID-19 and also so I can make sure the vaccine is safe for others.” His father, Minh-Tu Do, a pediatric emergency medicine physician, said, “Knowing how devastating this disease can be, I also wanted to make sure our children were protected not only for themselves but also for others.”
