Johnson & Johnson testing COVID-19 vaccine on teenagers
Johnson & Johnson is now testing its COVID-19 vaccine on teenagers, the pharmaceutical company said on Friday.
The drugmaker has been conducting a clinical trial looking at the safety and immune response of its vaccine on healthy adults since September. That ongoing study now includes adolescents 12 to 17 years of age, according to J&J.
Dr. Paul Stoffels, vice chairman of the executive committee and chief scientific officer at J&J, noted the pandemic's "profound impact" on the education, mental health and well-being of adolescents. "It is vital that we develop vaccines for everyone, everywhere, to help combat the spread of the virus with the goal to return to everyday life," he said in a statement.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the White House, recently said he thinks vaccines will be ready for older children in the fall, but probably won't be available until 2020 for elementary school-aged kids.
Moderna and Pfizer both recently announced vaccine trials for children under 12 years.
J&J's vaccine will initially be tested in a small number of teens, 16- to 17-years-old, then expanded to a larger group of younger adolescents, the company said. The trial is now enrolling people in Spain and the United Kingdom, and soon will include people in the U.S., Netherlands and Canada, with people in Brazil and Argentina to follow, the company said.
J&J is also in discussions with health authorities "to initiate studies in pregnant women and children in the near future." according to Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head, Janssen research and development at J&J.
The company's announcement comes days after J&J confirmed that a batch of its COVID-19 vaccine made by a contractor could not be used because it hadn't met quality control standards. J&J still plans to deliver 100 million doses in both May and June.