Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Highly Effective in Children 12 and Older

The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine fully protects children aged 12 to 17 years, the company announced Tuesday.

In a clinical trial that included more than 3,700 young volunteers, there were no cases of symptomatic COVID-19 infection in the two-thirds of participants who received both doses of the vaccine, which translates into an efficacy rate of 100 percent. That is the same rate that was reported recently by Pfizer in clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine in 12- to 15-year-olds, The New York Times said.

"We are encouraged that mRNA-1273 [the Moderna vaccine] was highly effective at preventing COVID-19 in adolescents. It is particularly exciting to see that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine can prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection," Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. "We will submit these results to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and regulators globally in early June and request authorization. We remain committed to doing our part to help end the COVID-19 pandemic."

Moderna also noted that a single dose of its vaccine was 93 percent effective against symptomatic illness. Side effects among adolescents who received the Moderna vaccine were similar to those reported in adults: pain at the injection site, headache, fatigue, muscle pain, and chills, The Times reported.

The trial results were announced in a news release that had no detailed data from the clinical trial, but Moderna said it plans to submit the data for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, The Times reported.