Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine was licenced for use in children aged 12 to 17 by the European Medicines Agency on Friday, making it the continent’s second teenage vaccination.
“The use of the Spikevax vaccine in children from 12 to 17 years of age will be the same as in people aged 18 and above,” the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said, referring to Moderna.
The vaccination will be administered in two doses, four weeks apart.
The decision by the Amsterdam-based regulator comes after Pfizer/BioNTech received permission for the first vaccine for European children in May.
The effects of Spikevax were investigated in 3,732 children aged 12 to 17 years, according to the EMA.
“The study showed that Spikevax produced a comparable antibody response in 12- to 17-year-olds to that seen in young adults aged 18 to 25 years,” it said.
It uses genetic material to convey instructions to human cells to make the coronavirus’s spike protein, allowing the host to practise an immune response without really being infected.
The EU announced on Thursday that 200 million Europeans, or more than half of the adult population, have been properly vaccinated, falling short of the 70% target set for the summer.