By Adriano Marchese

Canada's health regulator on Friday said it authorized Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE's bivalent-adapted Covid-19 booster for children between the ages of five and 11 to support immunization against the Omicron variants.

Health Canada said the Pfizer-BioNTech booster targets the original Covid-19 strain as well as the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

In early-October, the regulator authorized the booster for use in individuals 12 years of age and older, and on Friday it said that while the formulation will be the same for younger children, the dose administered will only be one-third of that used for the older cohort.

The booster was determined to be safe after a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, and Health Canada said that vaccination continues to be one of the most effective tools to protect individuals against Covid-19.

Health Canada said that it requires Pfizer and BioNTech to provide all new information on the safety and efficacy of the bivalent-adapted booster vaccine to ensure that its benefits continue to outweigh any risks.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 09, 2022 12:57 ET (17:57 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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