EU approves Pfizer-BioNTech jab for kids aged between 12 and 15

A teenager receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine in Israel’s Tel Aviv. Pic/AFP

The European Union's drug watchdog on Friday approved the Pfizer/BioNTech Coronavirus jab for 12 to 15-year-olds, the first vaccine to get the green light for children in the bloc. The vaccine was "well tolerated" in adolescents and there were no "major concerns" in terms of side effects, the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency said.

The move will be a further boost for Europe's vaccination programme, with Germany saying it will start giving the jab to children over the age of 12 from next month. The United States and Canada have already authorised Pfizer for adolescents.

"As anticipated, the EMA's Committee for Human Medicines has today approved the use of the vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech in adolescents from 12 to 15 years," Marco Cavaleri, the EMA's head of vaccine strategy, said.

Until now, the shot made by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German research firm BioNTech, had only been authorised by the EU for people aged 16 and older.

EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides hailed it as "one step closer to ending the pandemic", but said people would still have the choice about whether their children should get the jab.

With EU countries trying to expand their vaccination coverage, EMA chief Emer Cooke has said the regulator fast-tracked the approval, which was originally expected in June. None of the 1,005 children who received the vaccine in a trial developed Covid-19, compared to 16 children out of the 978 who received a placebo injection.

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