Pfizer BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine will likely be the first to be administered to younger teens, Health Canada’s chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma said Wednesday.
Since the other vaccines are yet to declare results of their trials on children, Sharma said it is “likely that Pfizer, if all the data is fine, may be the first” vaccine that children would be eligible for in Canada.
Her statement came following the announcement by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE Wednesday that their COVID-19 vaccine was safe and effective and produced powerful antibody responses in 12 to 15-year old kids.
Sharma also said that Canada will review Pfizer BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine data on younger teens “in a couple of weeks.”
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Pfizer isn’t the only company seeking to lower the age limit for its vaccine. Results also are expected soon from Moderna’s vaccine study in 12 to 17-year-olds.
Last month, AstraZeneca too began a study of its vaccine among six to 17-year-olds in Britain. Johnson & Johnson is planning its own pediatric studies. And in China, Sinovac recently announced it has submitted preliminary data to Chinese regulators showing its vaccine is safe in children as young as three.
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