Parents interested in having their child or children participate in a future study are being asked to register their interest online. Children between the ages of 6 months and 12 years can participate.
REGISTER HERE: Lurie Children's Hospital COVID vaccine trial
Studies in children under 12 for both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are expected to begin within three to six weeks, according to the doctor heading up the trial at Lurie Children's.
Dr. William Muller said the studies are likely to take three to four months to fully enroll participants and then will require at least a couple of months of follow-up to have sufficient data for review by the FDA.
Because of this, Dr. Muller expects that the earliest a vaccine would be approved for children is fall or winter. However, he said it seems likely that approval will continue to involve progressively younger groups of children, such as 6-12 years old, then 2-6 years old, then 6 months - 2 years.