Moderna said on Tuesday its COVID-19 vaccine has been found to be effective in children aged between 12 and 17, and that no new safety concerns emerged in a clinical trial.
Moderna’s vaccine was approved for use in the USA five months ago, for adults over the age of 18.
The Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company will submit findings of its latest study to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulators with the hope of getting emergency use authorisation among teenagers by early June.
“We are encouraged that mRNA-1273 was highly effective at preventing COVID-19 in adolescents,” said Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel.
The trial was conducted among 3,723 youngsters between the ages of 12 and 17. Two-thirds of the volunteers received two doses of the vaccine.
It was found that none of the participants developed any serious COVID-19 symptom, while four in the placebo group contracted the virus.
A single dose of the vaccine resulted in 93 per cent efficacy, while two doses yielded cent per cent efficacy.
The US previously authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 16-year-olds and over, and later for children aged 12.
