UK approves Pfizer vaccine for kids aged 12-15

London: The UK on Friday approved Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for use among children aged between 12 and 15 years.

Britain's medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) authorised the use of Pfizer vaccine in the younger age group following a review of its safety, quality and effectiveness. "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," June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said. "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 15-year age group," she added.

No extension to an authorisation would be approved unless the expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness have been met, June said. She 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.