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A question I've gotten a lot while I've been writing about the COVID-19 vaccine is, how do we make sure they work for seniors? https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/11/13/seniors-have-borne-the-brunt-of-covid-19-how-do-we-make-sure-a-vaccine-works-for-them.html
Why is this even a question? Because clinical trials for new vaccines often rely on younger healthy adults. But seniors often need a dose that's specialized to them. How do we find that out? Trials. But this paper said they were at risk of being excluded. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2771091
But a lot of the vaccine makers say they're rising to the challenge. Moderna published some early results (small sample size!) that suggested that their candidate was creating an immune response in older adults. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2771091
Pfizer, who released very promising early results Monday, said their data is still "blinded," so they don't know yet how the effectiveness of their vaccine breaks down by age, but pointed out that they've made diversity a focus of their enrollment. This is the chart they sent me.
Why does this matter? Well, the National Advisory Committee on vaccines has recommended seniors be among the first vaccinated. Seniors have also borne the brunt of this pandemic. 80% of deaths worldwide have been in those older than 65. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/11/03/who-should-get-a-covid-19-vaccine-first-in-canada-first-formal-advice-released.html
So it's promising that vaccine makers are focusing on age, but the thing to watch will be those stage 3 results—do doses work in seniors? Is this a question Health Canada will be asking? Will we be able to vaccinate those who arguably need it most? https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/11/13/seniors-have-borne-the-brunt-of-covid-19-how-do-we-make-sure-a-vaccine-works-for-them.html
