UK approves Moderna vaccine for 12-17 age group

Tuesday, 17 August 2021 16:49

By Reuters

Britain's health regulator has approved Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children aged 12 to 17 years.

The approval comes more than two months after Pfizer and German partner BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine got regulatory nod for use in children aged 12 to 15.

Moderna's vaccine was recommended for use in adolescents by European regulators in July and is awaiting US authorisation.

It is currently approved for people over the age of 18 in the UK.

Britain's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) gave the go-ahead on August 4 for 16 and 17-year-olds to get their first dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine ahead of schools returning in September.

JCVI will make a decision on whether the vaccine will be deployed or not.

More from International News

FBI foils "terror plot" targeting Los Angeles

Four people are facing criminal charges in connection with what Attorney General Pam Bondi described on Monday as a foiled bomb plot that contemplated multiple targets, including US immigration agents and their vehicles.
Hong Kong court finds tycoon Jimmy Lai guilty in landmark security trial

Hong Kong's High Court on Monday found pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious material under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life.
Ukraine peace talks stretch into second day at start of pivotal week for Europe

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will resume talks with US President Donald Trump's envoys in Berlin on Monday, after the US side said a "lot of progress" had been made on ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
Flash floods kill at least 37 people in Morocco's Safi province

At least 37 people have been killed in flash floods triggered by torrential rains in Morocco's Atlantic coastal province of Safi, Moroccan authorities said on Monday.