Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine now approved for use in children ages 12 and older in Canada

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Published August 27, 2021 at 3:01 pm

Health Canada has approved the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for all Canadians ages 12 and older.

Previously, the only vaccine approved for use in Canadians between the ages of 12 and 17 was Pfizer. However, as of Friday (August 27), both mRNA vaccines will now be available for youths.

“Health Canada has authorized the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in youth aged 12 to 17. Until now, this vaccine was only authorized for use in people 18 years of age or older,” Health Canada said in a post shared on social media. “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.”

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) endorsed Health Canada’s decision, citing statistics from the trial that suggest the vaccine is safe and effective for those ages 12 and older.

“The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was well tolerated in adolescents 12 to 15 years of age. Local reactions were mostly mild to moderate in severity, no serious adverse events or deaths related to the vaccine were reported,” the NACI said in a news release.

The news comes less than two weeks before students are set to return to classrooms in Ontario.

As of Friday, according to the latest data from the Province, 73.6 per cent of those between the ages of 12 and 17 have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 61 per cent have been fully immunized—the lowest for both categories among all demographics in Ontario.

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