Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to be tested on children for first time

The University of Oxford says it will test the effect of its coronavirus vaccine on children, becoming the first developer to do so. The university said its trial will examine the “safety and immune responses” to the vaccine in children and young adults aged between 6 and 17 years. The trial will enroll 300 volunteers, and will take place in the UK cities of London, Southampton, and Bristol. The immunizations are expected to occur later in February, according to Oxford. Prof. Andrew Pollard, chief investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, noted: “While most children are relatively unaffected by coronavirus and are unlikely to become unwell with the infection, 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.” Meanwhile, the United Kingdom also said it would conduct trials to test the effectiveness of using two different vaccines, either the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine followed by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, or vice versa.