Oxford to launch COVID-19 vaccine trials for children

Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
(Image credit: ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)

The University of Oxford announced Saturday it will launch a new trial to test the COVID-19 vaccine it has developed in partnership with AstraZeneca on children between the ages of six and 17.

The two-dose Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is already in use in the United Kingdom, though only people 18 and over can receive the shots as of now. Trial inoculations are expected to begin later this month, with around 300 volunteers enrolling to help determine efficacy and safety. This marks the first attempt by a coronavirus vaccine developer to test its candidate in young people, NBC News notes.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.