US Clears Pfizer's mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine For Adolescents Aged Between 12 And 15 Years

In a major development, the drug regulator in the United States (US) have allowed the inoculation of children as young as 12 years with Pfizer's two-dose mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, reports Livemint.

After the clearance for emergency use from US Food and Drug Administration expanded, the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine can now be used in inoculation of those aged between 12-15 years in US.

The US' Food and Drug Administration has declared that the said vaccine is safe and offers strong protection for younger teenagers based on testing of more than 2,000 US volunteers aged between 12 and 15 years. It added that the study found no cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared to 18 among kids given dummy shots.

FDA said that the researchers also found that the kids developed higher levels of virus-fighting antibodies than earlier studies measured in young adults.

The development gains significance because most COVID-19 vaccines globally have only been authorised for adults. Also, it should be noted that Canada has already allowed the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for those aged 12 years and above.