20/07/2022
Ottawa, Ontario — Wednesday July 20, 2022
Health Canada approved the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months to 5 years old on July 14, 2022. This vaccine is safe for kids and it works.
Visit the CHEO vaccination webpage for more information.
CHEO Research Institute – Canadian site for KidCOVE clinical trial
The CHEO Research Institute is one of 87 sites in Canada and the United States participating in the clinical research study, called KidCOVE, to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Moderna mRNA-1273 (COVID-19 vaccine) for children six months to under six years of age.
“Infants and young children have waited the longest for an approved vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). As one of the few Canadian clinical trial sites for this critical pediatric vaccine, we are pleased the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is now approved by Health Canada for this age group. CHEO’s multidisciplinary team, which included researchers, the oversight of the CHEO Research Ethics Board, pharmacists, nurses, and many more, worked diligently to get this trial off the ground in a timely manner. I’d like to thank the CHEO KidCOVE study team for their continued hard work and the families who are participating in this important research. You all played an important role in the approval of this vaccine for Canadian kids coast-to-coast,” said Jason Berman, CHEO Research Institute Chief Executive Officer and Scientific Director and Vice President of Research at CHEO.
Recruitment for the KidCOVE study began in December 2021 and as of March 2022, the team at CHEO had reached their target goal of 40 families to be enrolled as part of the study.
KidCOVE is a randomized, observer-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of two doses of mRNA-1273 (COVID-19 vaccine) given to healthy children 28 days apart. The local families participating in the clinical trial will continue to be followed by the study team.
“The research team, which includes Jason Brophy as one of the study’s site investigators and Jennifer Bowes as the research coordinator, and the families have been very excited to participate in this cutting-edge research to evaluate the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in this at risk age group. The CHEO Research Institute and CHEO has been a huge help in facilitating this very important and timely trial,” said Charles Hui, Principal Investigator of the CHEO KidCOVE study.
Media contact:
Jennifer Ruff
Manager of Communications
CHEO Research Institute
(613) 261-3979
[email protected]