Pfizer vaccine OK’ed in Canada for 12- to 15-year-olds

Health Canada has approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for use on children aged 12 to 15.

The authorization — the first in Canada for that age group — was granted Wednesday. The vaccine previously was approved for those 16 and up.

“The vaccine is approved for people who are 12 years of age and older,” Health Canada said in a post on its website. “Its safety and effectiveness in people younger than 12 years of age have not yet been established.”

According to a post on the Pfizer website, the approval was granted after more than 2,200 Americans aged 12 to 15 took part in a clinical trial. There weren’t any cases of COVID recorded among the youths who were vaccinated.

“Today’s expansion of our authorization represents a significant step forward in helping the Canadian government broaden its vaccination program and begin to help protect adolescents before the start of the next school year,” Fabien Paquette, the vaccines lead for Pfizer Canada, said in the post.

“We are proud that we are playing a part of the efforts to help protect adolescent Canadians in this devastating pandemic.”

The company also is doing a pediatric study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the vaccine for children aged six months to 11 years.