BioNTech to seek approval to give COVID vaccine to children as young as 5

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC)— Vaccine maker BioNTech is set to request global approval to use its COVID-19 vaccine in children as young as five over the next few weeks, according to a report from Der Spiegel.

The company, which partners with Pfizer, said it expected to file its regulatory report on five to 11-year-olds in September. It also laid out plans to seek approval in children aged six months to two years old later this year.

In the U.S., the Los Angeles board of education voted Thursday to require students 12 and older to be vaccinated against the coronavirus to attend in-person classes. There’s no such requirement in place in New York.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine received full approval on Aug 23, It became the nation’s first vaccine to move beyond Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).