- Moderna applied for its COVID-19 vaccine to get emergency approval for children under six years old in the US.
- Moderna's CEO said the vaccine "will be able to safely protect these children."
- The company said similar approval requests are underway for children in other countries.
Moderna has asked the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency approval of its COVID-19 vaccine on children under six years old.
Moderna said in a statement on Thursday that it had applied to the FDA for emergency-use authorization for its vaccine to be used in "children 6 months to under 2 years and 2 years to under 6 years of age."
The company added that it "similar requests are underway" with vaccine regulators in other countries.
Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said: "We believe mRNA-1273 will be able to safely protect these children against SARS-CoV-2, which is so important in our continued fight against COVID-19 and will be especially welcomed by parents and caregivers."
Moderna said its tests showed positive interim results, showing "a robust neutralizing antibody response in the 6 month to under 6 years of age group."