It will be known next week if Moderna’s vaccine against COVID-19 is recommended for children, a senior official with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday. If approved, it would be the first license for the use of the vaccine in children worldwide.
In a press session on Thursday, Dr Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccine strategy for the European Union drug regulator, said his panel of experts is evaluating Moderna’s request to extend the use of its coronavirus vaccine for children between 12 and 17 years old.
“We expect the committee to reach a conclusion by the end of next week,” he said.
Moderna’s vaccine was given the green light for use in people 18 years of age and older across the EU in January. It has also been authorized in the United States, Great Britain and Canada, but not in children. To date, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved for children under 18 years of age in Europe and North America.
The EMA said last week that there was a “possible link” between the vaccines produced by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech with very rare cases of inflammation of the chest and heart, mainly in young adults. He said the effects were temporary and that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks.
Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU has distributed enough vaccines to immunize 70% of its adult population and many countries are considering vaccinating children, even though they face a much lower risk. of COVID-19.
Although Britain’s regulatory agency has licensed the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children, its vaccine advisory group has not yet recommended that adolescents be vaccinated. Moderna also requested the licensing of its vaccine for children and adolescents in the United States
Many public health officials say that rich countries should donate their vaccines once the adult population is covered, noting that millions of people in developing countries at high risk of contracting the coronavirus, including health workers and the elderly, have not been vaccinated.
–
