Moderna to seek approval for COVID-19 vaccine in babies as young as 6 months

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine has shown promising efficacy rates in babies and toddlers, according to the company, paving the way for the pharmaceutical giant to seek approvals across the globe.

Moderna said initial results from a Phase 2/3 study found the vaccine 44 per cent effective at preventing infection in children between six months and two years old, and 38 per cent effective in those between the ages of two and five.

Company president Stephen Hoge called the findings good news.

"We met the primary endpoint of that study, meaning that the vaccine provides the same level of protection against COVID in young kids as it does in adults," he added.

In British Columbia, doctors treating young patients say the vaccine could be a game-changer, particularly now that the province has eased most of its COVID-19 restrictions.

Family physician Dr. Anna Wolak told CTV News her sense is that parents whose children are not yet eligible for vaccination don't want to play "Russian Roulette" with the odds.

"The thing with vaccination is this is not going to prevent infection," she explained. "But at least we're trying to protect our littlest ones and our most vulnerable ones from getting seriously ill, needing hospitalization or (dying)."

B.C. has among the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in Canada for kids ages five to 11, which is why Wolak thinks the messaging should change. While the public has heard a lot about milder impacts on children, she noted there are still many unknowns.

"We need to give the same messaging and the same priority that we do for all the other vaccinations. With chickenpox, for example, you could get a really mild case of chickenpox and just have an itch and a fever and irritability, but 30 years down the track, you could get shingles,” Wolak said. “We don't know what that looks like for COVID."

Moderna said it’s planning to seek approval for its two-dose vaccine in the coming weeks, adding a booster may also be necessary.