US Authorises Pfizer/Biontech Covid-19 Vaccine For 12-15 Year Olds

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on children aged 12 to 15 years old.

The Acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock described the move as a significant step in the fight against the so-called Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement Woodcock said the action allows for a younger population to be protected from Covid-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic.

She added that Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as they have with all of Covid-19 vaccine emergency use authorisations.

The FDA previously granted an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to individuals aged 16 and older.

The FDA said some 1.5 million Covid-19 cases in individuals aged 11 to 17 years old have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between March 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021.

The course of the disease is generally milder in children but they can pass it on to older, more vulnerable adults.