Though children develop mild or no symptoms with COVID-19, they are still able to spread the virus and some remain at risk of becoming seriously ill.
‘The UK regulator approves Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 17-year-olds.’
Moderna’s vaccine was recommended for use in adolescents by European regulators in July and is awaiting U.S. authorization. It is already approved for people over the age of 18 in the UK.
Britain’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) gave the approval ahead for 16 and 17-year-olds to get their first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine ahead of the reopening of schools for the new education year in September.
JCVI will make a decision on whether 12-17-year olds should be vaccinated with the shot made by Moderna as part of its deployment programme.
The MHRA said it did not identify any new side effects with the vaccine and the safety data was comparable with that for young adults, with adverse events being mostly mild and moderate and including sore arms or fatigue.
UK joins the likes of the United States, Israel, France and a number of other nations who are already inoculating young people against coronavirus.
Source: Medindia
