Moderna seeks to use vaccine for adolescents

AMSTERDAM:

Moderna Inc.

has filed a request with the

European Medicines Agency

for its

Covid-19 vaccine

to be granted authorization for use in adolescents.

In a statement on Monday, Moderna said it had filed data for conditional marketing approval in the 27-nation EU bloc to expand its coronavirus

vaccine

to children, beyond the green light it received in January for use in adults 18 and over. If authorized, it would be the second Covid-19 vaccine for children to be cleared in the EU. Last month, the European drug regulator approved the shot made by Pfizer and

BioNTech

for children aged 12 to 15.

“We are encouraged that the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine was highly effective at preventing Covid-19 in adolescents,” the company said in a statement. Moderna has also filed for authorization to use its vaccine under emergency use regulations in the US and Canada.