In an interview with Morning Edition, Plimpton says parents have been eager to sign up their children for the Moderna trials, which will include 6,750 children in the U.S. and Canada.

“The response from the parents has been overwhelming,” he says. “They’re calling literally all day long, asking for when they can get their kids vaccinated.”

Parents are “looking for protection for their kids. Especially here in Arizona, the kids are going back to school by governor mandate. And now we’re going to have more exposure issues for these kids,” Plimpton says. “But indirectly, they’re also going to be protecting themselves and those around the kids that might be infected if the kids actually get infected.”