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Adolescents to qualify for COVID-19 vaccine soon: U.S. Food and Drug Administration

By Pratiksha

Adolescents of ages 12 to 15 might qualify for access to the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as Thursday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated on Monday that the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech is safe and effective enough to be given to the younger teens under the emergency use authorization.

An advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to review the recommendation for authorization.

According to the FDA, the vaccine will be dispensed as two doses, three weeks apart, with the same dosage as for people ages 16 years and older.

In addition to studies of adolescents, Pfizer is also running vaccine trials in 5- to 11-year-olds, 2- to 4-year-olds and 6-month-olds to 2-year-olds. However, that will take more time to complete and the shots might not be available for younger children before the beginning of the next school year.

Tags: Adolescents Pfizer vaccine Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine

Pratiksha

Pratiksha is a student of English Journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. A media enthusiast and a passionate story teller, she aims to tell as many stories as she can through her journalism. Pratiksha is currently working as a current affairs journalist at USAnewshour.com and can be reached at pratiiksha1119@gmail.com