COVID-19: Canada approves use of Pfizer vaccine for ages 12 and over | International | information

Canada on Wednesday approved the use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for ages 12 and older, becoming the first country to allow it for people this young.

“This is the first vaccine licensed in Canada for the prevention of COVID-19 in children and marks an important milestone in Canada’s fight against the pandemic,” said Supriya Sharma, Chief Medical Advisor, Health Canada, at a press conference. country.

In addition, “we are the first in the world to authorize Pfizer for 12 to 15 year olds,” he said, adding that Britain and the European Union should make the same decision after looking at the same results. test submitted by the manufacturer.

The United States is expected to allow the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in children ages 12 to 15 next week.

Data from a clinical trial in the United States involving more than 2,000 young people who received two doses showed it to be as safe for adolescents as it is for adults, the official said.

There were no cases of covid-19 among the vaccinated children. In adults, it has been shown to be at least 95% effective in preventing infections.

The vaccine was licensed in December for use in Canadians 16 years of age and older.

Other manufacturers of the four vaccines licensed in Canada (in addition to Pfizer-BioNTech, the others are AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna) are conducting or preparing their own studies in children up to six months.

Sharma said Health Canada would expedite the review of these results.

“Return to a normal life”

Since the start of the pandemic, approximately 20% of COVID-19 cases in Canada have been in people under the age of 19.

As of Wednesday, about 1.25 million people had been diagnosed with coronavirus in that country. At least 24,000 have died.

About 13 million people, or 35% of the Canadian population, have received at least one dose of the vaccine so far.

While young people are less likely to have severe disease from covid, “having access to a safe and effective vaccine will help control the spread of the disease to family and friends, some of whom may be at risk. increased complications, ”said Sharma. .

The authorization of the vaccine to this age group “will also contribute to the return to a more normal life for our children, who have known such a bad time during the past year”, he added.

Sharma said the recommendation from Canadian health officials is that people be given the vaccine offered to them first, after a government advisory group generated confusion this week by classifying vaccines based on their safety.

“Each vaccine will have its advantages and disadvantages. The goal is to vaccinate as many people as possible as soon as possible, ”he said.

Rare serious thrombi have occurred in a handful of cases among the millions of people who have received AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

This week, two new deaths were reported in the provinces of Alberta and New Brunswick, bringing the total number of thrombus deaths in Canada linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine to three.

Canadian officials have said the risk of dying from COVID-19 is significantly higher than the likelihood of experiencing fatal complications from the vaccine. (I)