Covid: EU approves Pfizer-BioNTech jab for 12-15 year olds
Published
image captionThe Pfizer vaccine is already approved in the EU for those aged 16 and older
The EU s medicines agency (EMA) has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 12-15 year olds - the first jab allowed for this age group in the bloc.
Individual member states must now decide if they will offer the jab to children. German leaders gave the green light on Thursday.
Friday s announcement came as the World Health Organization (WHO) said Europe needed to speed up its vaccine rollout.
WHO Europe director Hans Kluge warned that the pandemic would not be over until at least 70% of the population had been vaccinated.
EU approves Pfizer jab for 12-15 year olds msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
World
May 21, 2021
COPENHAGEN: Progress against the coronavirus pandemic remains “fragile” and international travel should be avoided, the World Health Organisation’s Europe director warned on Thursday, but stressed that authorised vaccines do work against variants of concern.
“Right now, in the face of a continued threat and new uncertainty, we need to continue to exercise caution, and rethink or avoid international travel,” Hans Kluge said, adding that “pockets of increasing transmission” on the continent could quickly spread.
The so-called Indian variant, which may be more transmissible, has now been identified in at least 26 of the 53 countries in the WHO Europe region, Kluge said during his weekly press conference.