UK approves Pfizer Covid jab for use in 12 to 15-year-olds
Britain’s medicines regulator today said it had extended approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine so it can be used on 12 to 15-year-olds.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had carried out a “rigorous review” of the jab in teenagers.
“We have carefully reviewed clinical trial data in children aged 12 to 15 years and have concluded that the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective in this age group and that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh any risk,” said June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA.
Raine added that it would be up to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to decide whether this age group would come under the vaccine deployment programme.
The Pfizer vaccine is already approved for use in people aged 16 and over, and the latest development came a week after a similar clearance was given by European authorities.
Children aged 12 to 15 are already receiving the Pfizer shot in the US, while France and Germany are planning to start offering it to that age group this month.