Canada approves Moderna COVID vaccine for adolescents between ages of 12 to 17

Canada on August 27 approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents 12 years of age and older. The government said in a statement on Friday, “Following Health Canada's authorization of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents 12 years of age and older, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) released updated recommendations on the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in adolescents 12 to 17 years of age.”

It also noted that in May 2021, NACI had recommended vaccination of adolescents with Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine after regulatory approval and from Friday, it would also include the Moderna jabs mRNA-based jabs. The official statement added, “Clinical trial findings suggest the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines provide very good protection against symptomatic COVID-19 infection and have a favourable benefit versus risk profile in adolescents 12 years of age and older.”

“Although, a higher rate of myocarditis and/or pericarditis adverse events were recently reported after administration of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine compared to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, these events are still considered rare and verification of this potential difference is ongoing,” it said.

Moderna Signs MoU With Canadian Govt

Meanwhile, just earlier this month, US biotech company Moderna Inc and the Canadian government on August 10, announced that the firm will build a plant in Canada to produce vaccines for COVID-19 along with other respiratory infections. Canadian Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne made the announcement with the head of Moderna and said that the plant would meet the orders for its mRNA-based vaccines with manufacturers tackling to fulfil the soaring demands for Coronavirus jabs across the globe.

Moderna said in a statement on Tuesday that the goals for the agreement are “to build the foundation to support Canada with direct access to rapid pandemic response capabilities and to provide access to Moderna’s vaccines in development for respiratory viruses.” Moderna’s Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel also expressed gratitude to the Canadian government for the partnership between the two and for “their faith in our data, science and early confidence in our mRNA platform in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Bancel said, “As Moderna expands internationally, we are delighted to bring mRNA manufacturing to Canada. We believe that this innovative business model will have global impact and implications.”

Image Credit: AP