Moderna vaccine greenlit for children 5 and under in Canada
A file photo of a Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine.
Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine got go-ahead for use among children aged six months to five years in Canada on Thursday (July 14). This has made 1.7 million children in Canada. Canada has total population of 38 million.
"After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, Health Canada has determined that the benefits of this vaccine for children between 6 months and 5 years of age outweigh the potential risks," said Health Canada.
The agency said that in clinical trials, it was seen that the vaccine had same effectiveness as it had in the age group of 18-25 years.
"With this announcement, parents and caregivers now have an option to protect these very young children, a group at high risk of infection and where additional health prevention measures like wearing masks may not always be feasible," said Patricia Gauthier, president of Moderna's Canadian unit.
Moderna vaccine was approved in Canada for adult about a year and half ago. In US, inoculation campaign for children under five years of age beganin June.
Also on Thursday, Ottawa reinstated mandatory random Covid-19 testing of air travellers arriving at the nation's four major airports -- in
Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver -- after pausing the program last month.
(With inputs from agencies)
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