Pfizer seeks Covid vaccine approval for 12-15 year olds

GBNEWS24 DESK//

Pfizer-BioNTech has asked for authorization to use their Covid-19 vaccine on 12 to 15-year-olds in the United States, which could mark a crucial next step toward achieving herd immunity, reports AFP.

The mass vaccination of teenagers would also relieve an enormous strain on parents who are juggling the demands of homeschooling their children while keeping up with jobs.

The companies said in a statement that they plan to make similar requests of other regulatory authorities worldwide in coming days.

Their request to the US Food and Drug Administration comes after Phase 3 clinical trials of the Pfizer vaccine in 12 to 15-year-olds showed it was 100 percent effective in warding off the disease, according to the companies.

In late March they published the results of trials carried out with 2,260 adolescents in the US whom the companies said showed “robust antibody responses.”

The vaccine was “well tolerated with side effects generally consistent with those observed in participants 16 to 25 years of age,” the companies said Friday.

For now the vaccine has emergency authorization for use in people aged 16 and over.

Children are less likely to develop severe Covid so vaccinating them has been less of a priority than getting older people inoculated.