Moderna Seeks Health Canada Approval for COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids Under Six

Moderna Seeks Health Canada Approval for COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids Under Six
A vial and sryinge are seen in front of a displayed Moderna logo in this illustration taken on Jan. 11, 2021. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
The Canadian Press
Updated:

Health Canada is reviewing the first request to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for very young kids.

The Moderna application is for children between the ages of six months and five years old.

The company says a trial of 6,700 children determined the vaccine was safe and produced a similar antibody response to the one that is seen in adults.

A single dose for children under six is 25 micrograms—one quarter of the size given to adults and teenagers and half the size used for children ages six to 11.

Health Canada received Moderna’s application this morning after the company made a similar request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday.

The trial took place mainly during the wave of the Omicron variant and the vaccine was less effective at preventing infection in kids than previous trials in adults.