#Moderna files with EU for approval to use vaccine in adolescents

Moderna has filed a request with the European Medicines Agency for its COVID-19 vaccine to be granted authorization for use in adolescents.

In a statement on Monday, Moderna said it had filed data for a conditional marketing approval in the 27-nation EU bloc to expand its coronavirus vaccine to children, beyond the green light it received in January for use in adults 18 and over.

If Moderna wins authorization, it would be the second COVID-19 vaccine for children to be cleared in the EU. Last month, the European drug regulator approved the shot made by Pfizer and BioNTech for children aged 12 to 15.

“We are encouraged that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was highly effective at preventing COVID…in adolescents,” the company said in a statement. Moderna has also filed for authorization to use its vaccine under emergency use regulations in the U.S. and Canada.

Last week, In the US, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention teens to get vaccinated against COVID-19 — amid an increase in the rate of adolescents being hospitalized with the virus.