EU regulator approves Moderna's Covid vaccine for teens

Europe's medicines regulator has recommended approving the use of Moderna's Covid vaccine in 12- to 17-year-olds, paving the way for it to become the second shot approved for adolescent use in the European Union.

"The use of the vaccine will be the same in adolescents as in people above 18 years. The vaccine produced a comparable antibody response to that seen in 18- to 25-year olds," the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said.

In May, the EMA approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for use in 12 to 15-year-olds.

For the vaccine rollout to reach younger teenagers here as approved by the EMA, the Government would first need updated advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). All adults aged 18 and over are now eligible to register for a Covid-19 vaccine.