The European Union would soon make its first coronavirus vaccines available for children under 12. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said it would decide on Thursday whether to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech jab for children aged five and over.
The experts responsible for the decision have been reviewing data on the risks and efficacy of the vaccine in 5-11-years-olds for around two months and now plan to finalise their assessment.
If the EMA experts give the green light, the EU Commission still has to give official approval but that is considered a formality. In Europe, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has so far only been approved for people aged 12 and older. But in Israel and the United States, children as young as five can be vaccinated with it.