Health Canada has eventually approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to be used to inoculate kids as young as 12.
The initial approval for Moderna in December 2020 was only for people that are at least 18 years old.
Moderna applied for approval for youth in early June, citing a clinical trial of 3,700 youth in which all the teens who got two doses did not develop a COVID-19 infection.
Youth that are not younger than 12 years in Canada have been given the green light to receive the vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech since May 5.
As at mid-August, 75 percent of kids in that age bracket had received a minimum of one dose while 59 per cent were fully vaccinated.
Also, Health Canada said the National Advisory Committee on Immunization would meet very soon to talk about whether booster shots should be given to people with compromised immune systems.
Ontario has already started to offer boosters to transplant recipients, people with some blood cancers and long-term care home residents.
Health Canada approved Pfizer for youth in a few weeks and has not revealed why the Moderna review took over two months.
In a recent email, a spokesperson wrote: “After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, Health Canada has determined that the vaccine is safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 in youth aged 12 to 17.”
Europe authorized the Moderna vaccine for children over a month ago while the United States has not yet approved it for teenagers.
