Canada has approved a vaccine for children
This is especially important in the midst of the third wave, which is increasingly infecting young people.
Health Canada has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for adolescents 12 to 15 years old. The company previously declares that the drug has been shown to be 100% effective and safe. The previous age threshold set in Canada for this vaccine was 16 .
Pfizer is the first vaccine approved for people under 18 years old. Three other drugs approved in Canada, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson, are used for adults.
Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser to the Ministry of Health, said vaccinating children is a very important step to get students back into school. Currently in Canada, about 20% of cases are under 19 years of age.
Dr. Zain Chagla, assistant professor of medicine at McMaster University, says the 12-15 year old group is at higher risk of transmission than younger children.
The clinical trial, which was conducted in the United States, involved 2,000 adolescents. Half of the group received the vaccine and the other half received a placebo. In the first group, no cases of COVID-19 infection were detected, and the adolescents developed strong antibodies.
Canada is the first country to approve a vaccine for adolescents, according to Health Ministry officials. But Pfizer officials said Algeria approved their drug for the same age group back in April. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also preparing to approve the vaccine for teens, and the European Medicines Agency is now reviewing trial data.
