EU backs Pfizer jab for 12 to 15-year-olds

THE HAGUE: The EU’s drug watchdog has approved the Pfizer/ BioNTech Covid-19 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 US 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,” said Marco Cavaleri, the EMA’s head of vaccine strategy, on Friday.

Up to 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.

“Beyond the decisions of governments, this is ultimately a decision to be made by parents for their children,” she said on Twitter.

With EU countries trying to expand their vaccination coverage, EMA chief Emer Cooke said the regulator fast-tracked the approval originally expected in June.

The watchdog insisted that it had taken the necessary steps to ensure that it was safe.

Trials showed the Pfizer vaccine was “highly preventative” for Covid-19 in children, Cavaleri said.