The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is 100% effective in children aged 12 to 15, according to trials by the vaccine’s manufacturers.
Pfizer and BioNTech have trialled the vaccine in the United States on 12 to 15-year-olds and have said the trials were successful. Initial results from the trials on 2,260 young people suggested the vaccine is safe and does not cause any unusual side-effects.
Currently, only over 16s are being vaccinated against the coronavirus in the UK and United States. A number of vaccines are though being trialled on children, including the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and the Moderna vaccine.
There are not currently any plans to vaccinate children in the UK against COVID-19, though this could change with successful trials and after older people have been offered the vaccine.
Following the results of the Pfizer/BioNTech trial, the firms are planning to submit data to vaccine regulators in the US and Europe. It is hoped that children in the United States could be vaccinated against the virus in the new academic year this Autumn.
