LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Britain’s well being regulator on Tuesday authorised a COVID-19 vaccine for infants as younger as six months, opening the door for vaccinating the nation’s youngest kids as soon as the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) agrees.

The Medicines and Healthcare merchandise Regulatory Agency (MHRA) authorised the vaccine – made by Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech (22UAy.DE) – for kids aged six months to 4 years previous, after it was deemed secure and efficient based mostly on an ongoing scientific trial involving 4,526 members.

Whether the vaccine is ultimately deployed on this age group depends upon a suggestion from the JCVI, which advises UK well being departments on which pictures must be used as a part of the nationwide vaccination programme.

The vaccine is tailor-made to be used on this age group – it’s a decrease dose model than the one utilized in kids aged 5 to 11 years. It is given as three injections within the higher arm, with the primary two doses given three weeks aside, adopted by a 3rd dose administered at the least two months after the second dose.

U.S. officers rolled out this model of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot for the same age group earlier this 12 months. Months in the past, EU regulators additionally endorsed the usage of COVID vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna (MRNA.O) for under-fives.

Reporting by Natalie Grover in London; Editing by Jan Harvey, Alexandra Hudson

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.