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Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech are asking the US Food and Drug Administration for full approval of their COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents.
The vaccine has been authorized for emergency use among 5- to 15-year-olds since May, 2021. In August, US regulators granted the Pfizer vaccine full authorization for adults.
Pfizer says its vaccine is 100 percent effective against preventing coronavirus among 12- to 15-year-olds.
The pharmaceutical giant points to a study it conducted with 2,228 adolescents in which 30 children who got the placebo contracted coronavirus while none of the children who got the vaccine contracted the virus.
The company reports that six months after the trial concluded, there are still no major safety concerns observed.
Adolescents are administered the same dosage as adults and receive two shots of the vaccination — just like adults.
In general, children are less likely to contract COVID and less likely to develop severe symptoms, according to health experts. However, children can still spread the disease — and some do develop more severe cases.
Pfizer’s effort’s to get vaccine approval come as some experts are pushing for Americans to get a booster shot — or another dose of the COVID vaccine.
Nearly 200 million American are fully vaccinated against coronavirus.
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