MILAN (Reuters) – Italian regulators approved the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children 12-17 years old, making it the second shot endorsed for adolescents, alongside that of Pfizer.
Italian drug agency AIFA said it had endorsed the vaccine Spikevax for teens, fully accepting the recommendation made by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on July 23.
“The available data demonstrate the efficacy and safety of the vaccine also for subjects in this age group,” Aifa said in a statement.
Some European countries say vaccinating children is important to reach herd immunity as the highly contagious Delta variant continues spreading. Moderna in May said its vaccine was found to be safe and effective in teenagers.
(Reporting by Emilio Parodi; Editing by Peter Graff)
