Moderna seeks nod for emergency use of COVID-19 jab in adolescents

MANILA, Philippines — American biotechnology company Moderna has submitted a request to allow its COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 12 to 17, the head of the country’s Food and Drug Administration said.

During a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte, FDA Director General Eric Domingo said Moderna submitted its application to amend the emergency use authorization of its jab on August 19.

Experts are studying the data provided by Moderna and may come up with a decision until next week.

The EUA granted to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in May only allowed its use in people aged 18 and older.

Sinovac application

Domingo also said experts have yet to approve the application of Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotech to use its vaccine in children aged three to 17 due to lack of data. 

“We advised the company to send us reports once they have more clinical trial Phase III data on children so that we can revisit,” he said. 

The Philippine FDA previously approved the emergency use of the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech in people aged 12 to 15.  

Currently, children and teenagers are not included in the government’s inoculation program due to limited supply of COVID-19 jabs and the need to prioritize the vulnerable sectors of the population.

Since March, 13.2 million people out of the country's 109 million population have completed vaccination against COVID-19. Meanwhile, 17.5 million have received partial protected.