The European Medicines Agency has recommended approving the use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in 12- to 17-year olds, paving the way for it to become the second shot okayed for adolescent use in the bloc.
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The use of the vaccine, branded Spikevax, will be the same in adolescents as in people above 18 years, the EMA said, adding the vaccine produced a comparable antibody response to that seen in 18- to 25-year olds.
Vaccinating children has been considered important for reaching herd immunity against the novel coronavirus and in the light of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Moderna in May said its vaccine was found to be safe and effective in teens.
EMA's safety committee said while common side effects in teenagers after vaccination were similar to those seen in older population, due to a smaller study size, the trial could not detect new uncommon side effects or estimate the risk of known ones such as myocarditis and pericarditis.
The European Commission still has to give the green light but that is considered a formality.
Moderna's preparation Spikevax would thus be the second COVID-19 vaccine that may also be administered to young people in the bloc.
At the end of May, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was also approved for 12 to 17-year-olds.
with DPA
Australian Associated Press
