US authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 12-15 year olds

US authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 12-15 year olds

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on children aged 12 to 15 years old. Acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock described the move as a ‘significant step in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.’ ‘Today's action allows for a younger population to be protected from Covid-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic,’ Woodcock said in a statement. ‘Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our Covid-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations,’ she added.