Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine granted young adult approval in the UK

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has officially approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 following thorough review of the safety, quality and effectiveness of the vaccine by not only the MHRA but the government’s independent advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), as well.

The announcement comes after the FDA granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the same age group last month.

“… Over 2000 children aged 12-15 years were studied as part of the randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials,” notes Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, CHM chair. “There were no cases of Covid-19 from seven days after the second dose in the vaccinated group, compared with 16 cases in the placebo group. In addition, data on neutralizing antibodies showed the vaccine working at the same level as seen in adults aged 16-25 years. These are extremely positive results.”