Moderna asks Health Canada to approve vaccine for kids aged 6-11

Health Canada has said that this review is being prioritized, alongside a similar request made by Pfizer for their vaccine to be used in children aged between 5 and 11.

"As with all COVID-19 vaccines, the Department will prioritize the review of this submission, while maintaining its high scientific standards for safety, efficacy and quality," said a Health Canada statement.

"The assessment will include a detailed review of clinical trial results, as well as other evolving data and information about the health impacts of COVID-19 and variants of concern on children in Canada," they added.

Health Canada is expected to make a decision in a few months.

Multiple European countries' health boards have warned against using the vaccine in those under 30. Three days ago, French health authorities advised against Moderna for those under 30, due to "comparatively higher risks of heart-related problems," reports Reuters.

Germany also recently recommended BioNTech/Pfizer's vaccine for those under 30 due to "more heart inflammation cases with Moderna's data."

German data revealed a "report rate for heart inflammations of 11.71 per 100,000 shots with the Moderna vaccine for men in the 18-29 age group, compared with 4.68 for the BioNTech/Pfizer shot. For women, the rate was 2.95 with Moderna and 0.97 with BioNTech/Pfizer," Reuters wrote.

Sweden and Denmark also decided last month that Moderna's COVID vaccine was not fit for people aged 30 and under, due again to potential heart-related side effects. The FDA in the US is also currently investigating reports of teen heart problems caused by Moderna's vaccine.