Health Canada has approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children under five years of age.
This is officially the first vaccine of its kind to be approved for that age group in the country.
Health Canada now says this vaccine can be given to young children between the ages of six months and five years old in doses one-quarter the size of that approved for adults.
The approval expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to nearly two million children in Canada, though the availability of the vaccine will be determined by provinces and the vaccine will require two doses given about four weeks apart.
Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for young children between six months and five years old was submitted to Health Canada last month and is still under review.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization was expected to provide comments on this announcement later Thursday.
— With files from the Canadian Press