JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When could we see a vaccine for children?
The CEO of the Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research expects older teenagers will be able to get vaccinated before the fall. The fall is when Dr. Anthony Fauci says to expect to know either way.
When it comes to vaccinating children of younger ages, that's where CEO of the Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research Dr. Michael Koren says things aren't black and white.
"It gets a little bit trickier because when you get into the school-age, meaning elementary school and middle school, then the trade-offs get a little bit different," Koren said. "But I wouldn't be surprised if we see teenagers being vaccinated during the summer."
Koren says the youngest people they're enrolling in their three vaccine trials are 15. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines can be given to people 18 and older and the Pfizer vaccine to those 16 and older.
Koren says there are two big considerations when it comes to a vaccine for children. First is the dosage and the second has to do with side effects, which younger children may have more of, according to Koren.
"The reason for that is the side effects are related to activating the immune system," said Koren. "Younger people tend to have more rigorous activation of their immune system compared to older people. So questions will come up A) What is the dose? B) Do children who tend to react a little bit more to the vaccine need one or two doses of the messenger RNA vaccines?"
First Coast News asked Koren about hesitancy when it comes to vaccinating kids against COVID-19.
"I'm actually seeing that go away," Koren said. "The initial vaccine hesitancy was really pretty high. But as more and more people see others getting the vaccine and not having any major side effects and also seeing progress against the infection, I think that's actually going away. I've actually been surprised in my clinical practice I've had patients who said they'd never take the vaccine three months ago and now they're coming back and saying, 'okay I'm ready, I've seen enough people do fine with it and I'm comfortable with it.'"
Koren says at the Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research they are having discussions about clinical trials for younger children, but that they will need to gauge community interest and talk with parents first.