Why it is important to develop an effective and safe pediatric COVID-19 vaccine

The need to cope with the medical, social, and economic storm due to the new coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as quickly as possible has led to the very rapid development of a huge number of vaccines. All these vaccines have been mainly developed in healthy adults and, in some cases, in the elderly. Children were marginally involved as, according to the clinical trial registry Clinical Trials.gov, only very few studies have included children among subjects to enroll, although just a few weeks after the pandemic declaration, the US Food and Drug Administration had highlighted the importance of vaccine evaluation in pediatrics. Availability of an effective and safe pediatric COVID-19 vaccine appears mandatory for several clinical and epidemiological reasons. However, as the development of an effective and safe pediatric vaccine seems far from easy, strong cooperation among governments, researchers, and pharmaceutical companies is highly desirable.