COVID-19 vaccine trials underway for children 5 and under

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - While some people may be rolling up their sleeves for third or fourth COVID-19 vaccination shot, there is a group that still can’t even get their first.

Doctor Debbie-Ann Shirley with UVA Health says studies on children 5 and younger are going well.

“I think we’re getting closer from what we’re hearing to having a possible vaccine for the youngest age group,” Dr. Shirley said. “During the omicron surge, the hospitalization rate of young children under the age of 5 is actually five times what it was during the delta surge, and so we are still seeing severe disease that occurs in children.”

UVA Health’s trends in child hospitalization mirrored national trends during the omicron surge.

“Thankfully, we didn’t see as much influence of severe respiratory disease, but there were other types of complications that lead to admission,” Shirley said.

Worried parents may not have to wait much longer, Pfizer and Moderna say they are seeing positive results.

“What we’ve heard in press releases from both companies is that their covid vaccine appears to be well tolerated in these younger age groups,” Shirley said.

The next step is for the FDA to review the data from both Pfizer and Moderna and make a decision on if they recommend that this age group gets this vaccine.

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