Canada authorises Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12 to 15
CANADA is to allow 12 to 15 year-olds to receive the vaccine against Covid-19 made by Pfizer BioNTech, the country’s leading health authority said on Wednesday, calling the approval an important milestone in the fight against the pandemic.
Coronavirus vaccines have so far generally only been offered to adults.
“This is the first COVID-19 vaccine authorized in Canada for use in children and marks a significant milestone in Canada’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” Health Canada said in a statement.
Health Canada has placed terms and conditions on the authorisation, requiring Pfizer-BioNTech to continue providing information to Health Canada on the safety, efficacy and quality of the vaccine in the younger age group to ensure its benefits continue to be demonstrated once it is on the market, the statement added.
Canada had initially authorized the vaccine for people aged 16 and above on December 9.
The health authority said it
Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada said they would continue to closely monitor the safety of the vaccine and take action if safety concerns were identified
was publishing multiple documents related to its decision, including a high-level summary of the evidence it reviewed.
Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada said they would continue to closely monitor the safety of the vaccine and take action if safety concerns were identified.
Meanwhile in the S and Europe, regulators are also assessing similar applications for the same age group.
In the S, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve the jab for teenagers in the coming days, while the European Medicines Agency may take up until early or mid-June.
The pharmaceutical companies said a clinical trial in the 12- to 15-year-old age group in the S had shown 100 percent efficacy.