PFIZER TO START LARGE STUDY TO TEST VACCINE ON KIDS BELOW 12

WASHINGTON: Pharma company Pfizer announced on Tuesday that it will start a large study to test its Covid-19 vaccine on children below 12 years of age. The vaccine maker has selected a dosing regime for the trial.

The upcoming study will enrol up to 4,500 children at more than 90 clinical sites in the United States, Finland, Poland and Spain, the company disclosed.

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has been authorised for use in children as young as 12 in Europe, the US and Canada.

The company said it has selected a dose of 10 micrograms for children between 5 and 11 years of age and three micrograms for infants in the age group of six months up to five years. Inoculating children and young people is considered in medical circles a critical step towards taming the coronavirus pandemic.