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Pfizer is beginning clinical trials of its COVID-19 pill in children as young as six. The pharmaceutical company said it hopes to enroll 140 children to determine if its antiviral treatment Paxlovid is effective at treating young kids who have a high risk of developing a severe case of COVID.
Pfizer said the volunteers will be broken down into two groups based on their weight to determine the dosage they will receive. While one group will receive a smaller dose, both groups will receive a full course of the treatment, which involves taking three pills twice a day for five days.
Pfizer also said that it is working to formulate a safe and effective dose of Paxlovid for children under the age of six.
"Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 11 million children under the age of 18 in the United States alone have tested positive for COVID-19, representing nearly 18% of reported cases and leading to more than 100,000 hospital admissions. There is a significant unmet need for outpatient treatments that can be taken by children and adolescents to help prevent progression to severe illness, including hospitalization or death," said Mikael Dolsten, Chief Scientific Officer and President, Worldwide Research, Development and Medical, Pfizer.
Despite only being tested on adults over the age of 18, the FDA granted an emergency use authorization for some at-risk children as young as 12. The treatment must be started within five days of the onset of symptoms to effectively treat the viral infection.