Canada Approves Pfizer Vaccine for Kids Aged 12-15

Health Canada approved on Wednesday the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for kids from 12 to 15 years old.

In December, the vaccine was initially approved for those aged 16 and older, and Health Canada received an application from Pfizer to expand the age threshold on April 16 of this year.

“After completing a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, the department determined that this vaccine is safe and effective when used in this younger age group,” Health Canada’s chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma said.

Notably, a trial of more than 2,200 youth in that age group in the United States recorded no cases of COVID-19 among vaccinated kids. The trial used the same size doses, and the same two-doses requirement, as the vaccine for adults

Additionally, Sharma affirmed that the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine for that age group was 100 per cent after the second dose.

“This is the first vaccine authorized in Canada for the prevention of COVID-19 in children and marks a significant milestone in Canada’s fight against the pandemic,” she said.

Meantime, the country recorded 1,253,817 coronavirus cases, 24,445 deaths and 1,148,134 recovered.

Johns Hopkins University announced on Wednesday that near 154.4 million people were infected with Coronavirus worldwide, including three million and 3 million and 228 thousand deaths.