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On Monday ( May 10 ) , the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) reach out hand brake blessing for the Pfizer - BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinum to admit adolescents between the eld of 12 and 15 years old .

The original hand brake approval , release on Dec. 11 , 2020 , let Pfizer ’s vaccine to be consecrate to those who were 16 years of age or older .

A person holding a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

" Today ’s action at law allow for a younger population to be protect from COVID-19 , bringing us nearer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to end thepandemic , " Dr. Janet Woodcock , acting FDA Commissioner , said in a financial statement . " Parents and guardians can rest reassure that the way contract a rigorous and exhaustive review of all usable data point , as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine hand brake employment authorizations . "

relate : nimble guide : COVID-19 vaccines in use of goods and services and how they work

The FDA govern that the " known and potential benefits " of the vaccine in this age group preponderate the " make out and potential risks , " according to the statement . On March 31 , Pfizer and BioNTech annunciate that the vaccinum was 100 % effective in preventing COVID-19 in youngster between the geezerhood of 12 and 15 based on results from a stage 3 trial , Live Science previously reported . In the trial , there were zero COVID-19 cases among those who were give the vaccinum and 18 COVID-19 cases among those given the placebo .

an illustration of vaccine syringes with a blue sky behind them

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A healthcare worker places a bandage on a girls� arm after a vaccine

The trial run involve 2,260 participants in that eld group ; half received the vaccine and one-half received a placebo . The side effects in this eld group " were consistent " with those reported in the older age groups ; the most plebeian side effects were pain at the injection site , tiredness , cephalalgia , chill , muscle pain , febrility and joint pain , according to the statement .

The Pfizer vaccine will be given to teenager as two doses three weeks asunder , the same administration and dosing as okay for the older age groups . Between March 1 and April 30 , about 1.5 million COVID-19 cases were reported among adolescent between the ages of 11 and 17 , according to the statement .

This emergency approval denotation have in mind that another 5 % of the U.S. population — nearly 17 million hoi polloi — is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine , according to CNN . That means that 85 % of the U.S. universe is now eligible .

Close up of a medical professional holding a syringe drawing vaccine from a vial to prepare for injection.

to begin with published on Live Science .

A syringe is shown being inserted into a vaccine vial.

an infant receives a vaccine

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A woman lies in bed looking tired and sick

A doctor places a bandaids on a patient�s arm after giving them a shot

An illustration of Y shaped antibodies in front of a coronavirus particle, blurred in the background

An older man stands in front of the National Covid Memorial Wall in London in the UK.

A young woman in a surgical mask sit in a doctor�s office as a doctor cleans her arm for a vaccination

an open box of astrazeneca vaccine vials, with one vial pulled out to show the label

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a person holds a GLP-1 injector

A man with light skin and dark hair and beard leans back in a wooden boat, rowing with oars into the sea

an MRI scan of a brain

A photograph of two of Colossal�s genetically engineered wolves as pups.

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