Sinovac launched COVID-19 clinical trials for South African children aged from six months to 17 years old last Friday (10 September), with two 17-year-olds being the first to receive their doses. Participants will receive two doses of the vaccines, or a placebo, 28 days apart.
The youngsters, a boy and a girl, received their injections at the Sefako Makgatho University in GaRankuwa, according to News24, and their identities are being kept secret to protect their privacy.
Sinovac, through Numolox, which has the local licence for the vaccine, is conducting the first paediatric phase three COVID-19 trials in the country. Sinovacʼs medical director for clinical research Gang Zeng said the vaccine has already been administered to about 40 million children aged between three and 17 in China. The trials will enrol 14 000 children in five countries to investigate the vaccine's efficacy and locally, 2 000 children will be enrolled in seven sites.
The trials will be conducted at sites in North West, Germiston, Newtown, Sandton and Sefako Makgatho University in Gauteng, as well as in Bellville and Paarl in the Western Cape.
As the trials were being administered to a vulnerable group, the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) would receive safety data every two weeks. An interim analysis would be done when 47 cases of the virus were reported.
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