Physicians Advocate for COVID-19 Vaccine Trials in Kids
Post Date: September 18, 2020 | Publish Date: Sept. 18, 2020
Two of Cincinnati Children’s leading experts on pediatric infectious diseases, Paul Spearman, MD, and Robert Frenck, MD, are among the co-authors of a commentary published Sept. 18, 2020, that recommends that COVID-19 vaccine trials in children should begin now.
The article “Warp Speed for COVID-19 Vaccines: Why are Children Stuck in Neutral?” was published online by Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The authors of the commentary advocate for evaluation of COVID-19 vaccines in children before the completion of Phase 3 studies limited to adults – once enough safety data is available from the adult trials.
“While adult clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines have moved quickly into Phase 3 clinical trials, clinical trials have not started in children in the U.S.,” the authors noted. “Delaying Phase 2 vaccine clinical trials in children will delay our recovery from COVID-19 and unnecessarily prolong its impact upon children’s education, health and emotional well-being, and equitable access to opportunities for development and social success.”
Spearman is director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Cincinnati Children’s, where he directs various vaccine trials for adults and children.
Frenck, a member of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Cincinnati Children’s, is the principal investigator of the NIH-sponsored Vaccine Treatment and Evaluation Unit as well as director of the Gamble Vaccine Research Center. He leads research for the part of a COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial involving adults that’s being conducted at Cincinnati Children’s, which is a joint development program called BNT162 that is directed by BioNTech SE of Germany and New York-based Pfizer Inc.
| Original title: | Warp Speed for COVID-19 Vaccines: Why are Children Stuck in Neutral? |
| Published in: | Clinical Infectious Diseases |
| Publish date: | Sept. 18, 2020 |
