Switzerland has approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 to 11 years, according to Swissmedic, the country’s surveillance authority for medicines and medical devices.
Moderna’s Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine will be administered to the children in two half-doses of 50 micrograms each at an interval of four weeks, Swissmedic said in a news release dated May 13. Older children and adults receive full doses of 100 micrograms.
Moderna’s study on 6 to 11-year-old children found that the immune response triggered by the vaccine against the COVID-19 virus is comparable to results seen in young adults. Some side effects were observed.
“The most commonly reported side effects such as pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, shivering or nausea, were similar to those in adolescents and young adults. Fever occurred more frequently in children, whereas muscle and joint pains were seen less often than in adolescents or adults. The undesirable effects were generally mild to moderate and lasted for a few days,” the news release said.
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