Sharjah24 – AFP: Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday said trial results showed their coronavirus vaccine is safe and produces a robust immune response in children aged five to 11, adding that they would seek regulatory approval shortly.
The vaccine would be administered at a lower dosage than for people over 12, they said.
"In participants five to 11 years of age, the vaccine was safe, well tolerated and showed robust neutralising antibody responses," US giant Pfizer and its German partner said in a joint statement.
They plan to submit their data to regulatory bodies in the European Union, the United States and around the world "as soon as possible".
Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University School of Public Health and a leading Covid expert in the US, called it the "good news" many parents had been waiting for.
If all goes well and approval follows, "my 9-year will get a shot by Halloween!" he tweeted.
The trial results are the first of their kind for children under 12, with a Moderna trial for 6-11 year olds still ongoing.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna jabs are already being administered to adolescents over 12 in several countries, as well as to adults around the globe.
England, Scotland and Wales became the latest to join the list of nations vaccinating younger teenagers, rolling out jabs for 12 to 15 year-olds this week. Northern Ireland is to follow suit next month.
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