European regulators OK Pfizer vaccine for children 12-15

The European Medicines Agency has recommended that the use of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech be expanded to children ages 12 to 15

BERLIN -- The European Medicines Agency on Friday recommended that the use of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech be expanded to children ages 12 to 15, a decision that offers younger and less at-risk populations across the continent access to a COVID-19 shot for the first time during the pandemic. Marco Cavaleri, who heads the EMA body that reviewed the vaccine, said the European Union regulator had received the necessary data to authorize the vaccine for younger teens and found it to be highly effective against COVID-19. The decision needs to be rubber-stamped by the European Commission and individual national regulators, he said. The recommendation follows similar decisions by regulators in Canada and the United States last month, as rich countries slowly approach their vaccination targets for adults and look to immunize as many people as possible.