Efforts for Coronavirus Vaccine Focus on Vulnerable Group: Older Adults

Public health officials and researchers warn that "immuno-compromised" older adults could limit the effectiveness of a coronavirus vaccine, reports the Wall Street Journal . The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is therefore engaging with companies to make it easier for experimental vaccines to be tested on older men and women earlier during clinical trials and alongside younger subjects. Pfizer, the University of Oxford, and Moderna have begun to test their coronavirus vaccine candidates in senior adults, while Johnson & Johnson plans to start testing later this summer. Pfizer also is investigating whether boosting the dosage could better protect older adults. Pfizer's Kathrin Jansen said the firm also is looking into whether its gene-based technology might be more effective in older recipients than vaccinations. Pfizer's untested technology uses synthesized mRNA to direct cells to generate proteins that can protect against the coronavirus. Meanwhile, GlaxoSmithKline's Thomas Breuer said his company has supplied one of its adjuvants to Sanofi and six other drugmakers working on coronavirus vaccines. Moreover, researchers at Boston Children's Hospital are attempting to develop a vaccine specifically for older adults.