As the coronavirus vaccines are increasingly being offered to younger age groups, an 8-month-old baby boy from New York has become the youngest person in the world to receive both doses.
According to the NY Post, Vincenzo “Enzo” Mincolla received his second dose on Wednesday. He originally was given his first shot several weeks before he turned 8-months old. The infant was offered the vaccines as part of a clinical trial being run by Upstate Medical University, Syracuse.com adds. This is one of only four vaccine sites located in America that has started the Pfizer testing vaccine on children under the age of 5. In fact, the U.S. is the only country so far to test the vaccines on young children and infants.
Enzo was reportedly one of fifteen infants in the trial set to receive the vaccine. The trial is currently in its first phase and is testing Pfizer doses on children ranging in ages from 6 months to 2-years-old.
Enzo’s parents, Dr. Mike Mincolla and Dr. Marissa Mincolla, have been outspoken to the media about why they chose to enroll their baby in the vaccine trials. The couple, who are both medical doctors, shared they felt this was the best move in order to end the pandemic as soon as possible.
“[The] quickest and safest way is to vaccinate our way out of it,” Dr. Mike Mincolla explained.
Luckily, the parents report that baby Enzo hasn’t experienced any side effects since receiving the shots. He’s been sleeping and eating regularly.
Earlier this week, we reported that Stanford University had begun a series of vaccine trials to test their safety and efficacy on young children. The trials, which are testing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, have already recruited enough participants and are underway. The trials are currently testing on children ages 6 months to 11-years old.
The vaccine trials are only in their first phase. It’s expected that an increased dosage will be tested on the children as the trials enter their second and third phases. In fact, it’s been reported that if the trials go according to plan and no children have adverse reactions, the COVID-19 vaccine may start being offered to children in the United States as early as this coming fall.
Right now, the CDC is recommending coronavirus vaccines to anyone above the age of 12-years-old. They’ve stated that fully vaccinated individuals can forgo many coronavirus restrictions, including wearing masks indoors and outdoors. On their website, the CDC emphasizes that vaccinating as many people as possible is the best way to combat the coronavirus.
Sources: NY Post, Syracuse.com, CDC,