The Food and Drug Administration has given emergency use authorization to allow the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in children as young as 12.
The two-dose vaccine had been authorized for those as young as 16. After clinical trials and research in those aged 12 to 15, the pharmaceutical company asked the FDA to expand their emergency use authorization to allow the vaccine to be used in younger teens.
Monday morning, the agency granted the request.
READ: Health officials urge Utah parents to vaccinate children against COVID-19
“Today’s action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic," said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D.
Adolescents between 12 and 15 will receive the Pfizer two-dose COVID-19 vaccine the same way those 16 and older do now; the shots will be given three weeks apart with the same dosage.
The FDA has given the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine emergency use approval for children as young as 12 years old. (https://t.co/rXIWz8CGoq)
Parents, will you be taking your kids to get vaccinated?
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The study included more than 2,200 participants ages 12 to 15. Common side effects were similar to adults, with pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, chills, muscle pain, fever and joint pain.
