Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to be tested on children

A new trial is to test how well the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine works in children.

Some 300 volunteers will take part, with the first vaccinations in the trial taking place later in February.

Researchers will assess whether the jab produces a strong immune response in children aged between six and 17.

The vaccine is one of two being used to protect against serious illness and death from Covid in the UK, along with the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.

As many as 240 children will receive the vaccine - and the others a control meningitis jab - when the trial gets under way.

Andrew Pollard, professor of paediatric infection and immunity, and chief investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, noted that most children were relatively unaffected by Covid and were unlikely to become unwell with the virus.

But he said it was important to establish the safety and immune response to the vaccine in children and young people as some children might benefit from vaccination.

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Source: BBC News, 14 February 2021