OTTAWA: Canada on Thursday authorized the use of Moderna´s Covid-19 vaccine for children six months to five years of age.
This means 1.7 million children, among Canada´s population of 38 million, are now eligible to be inoculated against the coronavirus.
"After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, Health Canada has determined that the benefits of this vaccine for children between 6 months and 5 years of age outweigh the potential risks," the agency said.
It said that in clinical trials the effectiveness of the regime for small kids was found to be similar to that observed in people aged 18 to 25.
"With this announcement, parents and caregivers now have an option to protect these very young children, a group at high risk of infection and where additional health prevention measures like wearing masks may not always be feasible," said Patricia Gauthier, president of Moderna´s Canadian unit.
The green light comes a year and half after the Moderna vaccine was approved in Canada for adults.
The United States launched its inoculation campaign for children under five in June.
Also Thursday, Ottawa reinstated mandatory random Covid-19 testing of air travellers arriving at the nation´s four major airports -- in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver -- after pausing the program last month.
"We need to keep border testing measures in place because that is how we track importation of the Covid-19 virus, and of new variants of concern," Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in a statement.
Anyone testing positive must self-isolate for 10 days.
This is the fifth poliovirus case from the province in 2024, while one has been reported from Sindh
Diet may not be only good for gut but likely to benefit cognition, motor ability, blood sugar levels
Sunscreen is considered much-needed skin care ritual by many people across globe, however, it may not be essential
"New service to ensure swift medical assistance for critical cases on motorways," says Khawaja Salman Rafique
Chinese researchers propose that gut microbiome is significant aspect to find out people's age
More than 7,400 deaths every day across Europe’s 53 states are caused by tobacco, fossil fuels, UPFs, alcohol