The Finnish University of Tampere will test a coronavirus vaccine on infants from 6 months of age. This was reported by the Finnish TV channel Yle.
Researchers will test the Comirnaty vaccine developed by Biontech and Pfizer. It is reported that groups from two years old and older have already formed, and now scientists are looking for babies aged 6 months to a year. A total of 1250 test subjects need to be recruited.
“Healthy children under 12 years of age who do not have an immune-lowering disease, multisystem inflammation syndrome in children and adolescents (MIS-C) or an allergic reaction to vaccines are allowed to participate in the study,” the channel said.
Children will receive a shot with either a vaccine or a placebo. Then the researchers will observe the reaction of the body: whether the temperature rises, whether redness appears at the injection site. It is noted that, since babies are not able to tell about side effects themselves, special attention will be paid to their irritability, crying or lack of appetite. In addition, after a while, they will be tested for the level of antibodies in the body.
According to the director of the institute, Mika Ryamet, infants under the age of six months retain the immunity obtained through the placenta in the womb, so they do not need vaccination. In total, the study will be conducted in four countries, including Spain, the United States and Poland.
If the vaccine is effective on children, with minor side effects, their vaccination may begin as early as next year.
At the end of August, the head of the Ministry of Health Mikhail Murashko noted that the incidence of coronavirus among children has increased in Russia. According to him, this began to happen due to the aggressiveness and increased rate of spread of the new variant of the coronavirus.
