Some 12,563 adolescents have received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This represents 17.2% of all persons between the ages of 12 and 18, countrywide, Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony said today during his daily COVID-19 update.
The health official said that his ministry is collaborating with the Education Ministry to roll out the school vaccination programme. “Hopefully, we can get as many children vaccinated in the shortest period,” he said.
The Health Ministry has so far been able to administer vaccines in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Nine, and 10. Teams are currently in Regions One and Seven, with visits to Region Eight expected soon.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age. The FDA amended the EUA originally issued on Dec. 11, 2020, for administration in individuals 16 years of age and older.
The FDA determined that the vaccine met the statutory criteria to amend the EUA, and that the known and potential benefits of this vaccine in individuals 12 years of age and older outweigh the known and potential risks, supporting the vaccine’s use.
