Oxford Initiates First Study of Its COVID-19 Vaccine in Children

The University of Oxford has announced that it has begun the first study of the AstraZeneca (AZ)/Oxford coronavirus vaccine in children and young adults to evaluate if the inoculation is safe and effective in patients aged six to 17.

The randomized, single-blind phase 2 study will enroll 300 volunteers, up to 240 of whom will receive the AZ vaccine. The remaining participants will receive a control meningitis vaccine that has shown to be safe in children and is expected to cause reactions similar to those of the COVID vaccine. The vaccinations of participants are expected to begin this month.

Although most children are unlikely to experience more than mild illness if infected with the SARS-CoV-2, “it is important to establish the safety and immune response to the vaccine in children and young people as some children may benefit from vaccination,” said Andrew Pollard, chief investigator of the Oxford vaccine trial.

Previous trials of the vaccine have shown it to be safe, led to strong immune responses and was highly effective in adults of all ages. The study, which is being funded by AZ and the UK’s National Institute for Health Research, will be led by Oxford with support from partner sites in London, Southampton and Bristol.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound negative impact on the education, social development and emotional well-being of children and adolescents, beyond illness and rare severe disease presentations,” said Rinn Song, a pediatrician and clinician-scientist with the vaccine research group in Oxford University’s department of pediatrics. “It is therefore important to collect data on the safety and the immune response to our coronavirus vaccine in these age groups, so that they could potentially benefit from inclusion in vaccination programs in the near future.” — James Miessler