Pfizer set to authorize COVID-19 vaccine for children, teens age 12 to 15

By Alyssa Wilson Published: May 4, 2021

Pfizer set to authorize COVID-19 vaccine for children, teens age 12 to 15

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2021, file photo, a vial of the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 is shown at a one-day vaccination clinic set up in an Amazon.com facility in Seattle and operated by Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. Pfizer announced Wednesday, March 31, 2021 that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12, a step toward possibly beginning shots in this age group before they head back to school in the fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to give Pfizer-BioNTech authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine to be used on people between the ages of 12 and 15. A government official told CNN that Pfizer applied for emergency use authorization and the “process should be straightforward.”

The FDA is currently reviewing data submitted to support the extended use.

A clinical trial involving more than 2,000 12-to-15-year-olds revealed that the vaccine was well tolerated. It had an efficacy rate of 100% within the age group.

Although children are less likely to die from COVID-19, it is still possible for them to spread the virus. Pfizer and BioNTech also began testing the vaccine on children between the ages of 6 months and 11 years old.

Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is used in people 16 years old and older. The Moderna vaccine is not cleared for people under 18.

No COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for children to use.