University of Wisconsin Health’s KidCOVE study began testing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for safety and efficacy in young children ages six months to five years.
This comes after KidCOVE performed tests with children ages five to twelve.
The UW School of Medicine and Public Health is one of 75-100 sites in the nation helping with KidCOVE clinical trials, according to a UW press release.
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This testing aims to bring the United States closer to herd immunity, co-principal investigator of the UW KidCOVE study Dr. William Hartman said.
“While children don’t get sick as often as adults or elderly, they can still contract COVID,” Hartman said. “This is a disease that comes after people who are unvaccinated, so hopefully by getting more people vaccinated we can come closer to herd immunity.”
To provide a more accurate demonstration of the vaccine’s efficiency, the study will give some children a placebo shot instead of the vaccine. This allows the researchers to compare the two groups’ COVID-19 rates.
The children participating in the study were all registered by their parents, and they will be closely monitored for any negative side effects and any COVID-19 symptoms, according to the study’s website. The study aims to keep the participants as safe as possible while testing the effects of the Moderna vaccine.
“I think, based on the adult studies, that the results are going to be very positive,” Hartman said. “I think we will show this to be a very safe and effective vaccine in this age group.”
Hartman said he hopes this study will lead to the approval of the Moderna vaccine for younger kids, allowing children everywhere to get the vaccine. Not only will this protect the nation’s children, but it will also protect the nation as a whole by assisting the development of herd immunity, Hartman said.
More information about the study can be found on the study’s website, and vaccine information for students, including scheduling an appointment, can be found on the UW website.
