The United Kingdom main drug regulator, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), approved Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children aged between 12 and 17 years old, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
This announcement came a few days after the agency approved the Pfizer vaccine for the same-aged group amid the reopening of schools.
Students can start to book their vaccine doses starting from next week to have the required time to earn the vaccine's protection before the beginning of the new academic year.
The MHRA Chief Executive Dr. June Raine said in an official statement issued by the agency: “I am pleased to confirm that the COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna has now been authorized in 12- to 17-year-olds."
She continued: "The vaccine is safe and effective in this age group. We have in place a comprehensive safety surveillance strategy for monitoring the safety of all UK-approved Covid-19 vaccines and this surveillance will include the 12- to 17-year age group.”
Moreover, the spokesperson of the Department of Health and Social Care responded: “We welcome the news that Moderna’s vaccine has been approved as safe and effective for people aged 12 and over. As has been the case with all other approvals, we will now be guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and have asked for its formal recommendation on whether to administer this vaccine to people aged 12 to 17.”
Currently, UK is working on lifting various COVID-19 linked restrictions such as the measures of quarantining fully vaccinated travelers from France.
Many European countries imposed some restrictions on the arrivals from France due to the spread of a new mutated COVID-19 strain entitled Beta.
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