COVID-19: Teens get first jab as Sinovac opens vaccine trial in SA
The vaccine trial of children and adolescents has got underway in South Africa.
The country is among a handful taking part in the trial.
The first teens out of a batch of 2,000 participants have now received their Sinovac jab.
The participants will be monitored from the first dose to 12 months after the second dose.
“We see a lot of milder and less severe disease in children, but they still remain susceptible,” project director Sanet Aspinall said.
“They are… getting the infection and they are then able to transmit it to the rest of the population,” she explained, assuring the Chinese vaccine was safe.
South African Medical Research Council president Glenda Gray said the trial was an important step in the fight against Covid-19.
“Delaying the inclusion of children in the Covid vaccine trials delays our ability to contain Covid-19,” she said.
Over a third of South Africa’s population is younger than 19.
CoronaVac is approved for use among adults in over 50 countries. China recently cleared it for use in minors, where it has already been administered to millions of children aged three to 17.
US manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna have also undertaken pediatric trials of their shots, prompting several countries to greenlight them for children in varying age groups.
Source: AFP
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