A new study has found that a COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for children as young as 12. The vaccine is currently approved for people aged 16 and older, but the drug company Pfizer has successfully tested its product on thousands of young people and will continue its research until a vaccine can be approved for all ages. The news is especially welcome because, like adults, children can become infected with COVID-19 and spread it to others. Listen to learn more about the study and what next steps are needed before the process of vaccinating kids can begin.
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March 8, 2021
6:56
The city of Washington, D.C., hosted a mass COVID-19 vaccination event for its public school employees. It was a huge operation requiring hundreds of volunteers and provided vaccinations to thousands of workers in one day. For this audio story, a reporter visited the event and asked attendees to share their thoughts on getting vaccinated. Listen to hear from a school custodian, a teacher, and a principal who received their shots, and hear a doctor explain how he addresses peoples’ fears about the vaccine.
Read MoreNovember 30, 2020
4:04
Two American pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer and Moderna, have developed vaccines that have been shown in trials to offer safe and effective protection against COVID-19. Now, the country needs to develop a coordinated plan for distributing them. The vaccines from both companies must be kept cold – one at temperatures colder than winter in Antarctica – which has implications for how they are shipped and distributed. Listen to learn how the vaccines will be kept cold as they move around the country and how state coordinators are deciding where each of the vaccines might work best.
Read MoreNovember 3, 2020
4:15
In the race to create a vaccine against COVID-19, several drug companies have moved into the final stages of development, which involves human testing. Thousands of Americans have volunteered to receive trial vaccines to help test their safety and effectiveness. The FDA has promised to fast-track the approval process for drugs deemed safe, although some Americans worry about the limitations of the accelerated timeline, including questions about the duration of immunization. Listen to hear a vaccine trial volunteer describe her experience, and learn how one COVID-19 drug works to fight the infection.
Read MoreMarch 23, 2020
4:01
Scientists are one step closer to finding a vaccine to protect people against COVID-19. A biomedical research company has vaccinated eight patients in Washington state with a new trial vaccine and has plans to vaccinate dozens more. The patients will be closely watched over time to make sure the vaccine is both safe and effective. The careful process means a vaccine will likely not be available to the general public for at least a year. Listen to learn how the new vaccine testing works and what motivates the scientists involved in the project.
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