Filenews 6 May 2021
Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine for ages 12 to 15 is also expected to be used in Cyprus when and if approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said the Deputy Director of Pharmaceutical Services of the Ministry of Health, Elena Panagiotopoulou.
According to Mrs Panagiotopoulou, the vaccine is expected to be approved in June and, as she noted, once approved it could also be used in Cyprus.
As the Deputy Director of Pharmaceutical Services said, the EMA announced that it has begun evaluating an application to expand the use of this vaccine to include young people aged 12 to 15.P
He explained that the EMA would carry out a rapid evaluation of the data, including the results of a clinical study involving adolescents as young as 12, in order to decide whether to recommend the expansion.
He noted that around 2,500,000 young people aged 12 to 15 participated in the study.
He said that once this vaccine is approved, Cyprus is expected to have it, to add that a country can diversify because of its own policy.
"It does not force the European Medicines Agency to comply with its own approvals," he added.
According to the EMA, this vaccine contains a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) with instructions for the production of a protein, known as the protein spike, naturally found in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The vaccine works by preparing the body to defend itself against SARS-CoV-2.
It is noted that Canada has already approved the administration of the Pfizer vaccine to children between the ages of 12 and 15.
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