Moderna said trials had shown its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, which is already approved for adults in the EU, is highly effective in children over 12 years old.
The results could pave the way for the vaccine to be made available to younger age groups.
The company plans to submit data to global regulators in June.
After two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, there were no cases of the virus in study participants, Moderna said in a press release on Tuesday, meaning it was 100% effective at preventing COVID-19.
The vaccine was 93% effective in children ages 12-17 two weeks after a single dose, the company added.
“We are encouraged that mRNA-1273 was highly effective at preventing COVID-19 in adolescents,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, in a statement.
“We will submit these results to the U.S. FDA and regulators globally in early June and request authorisation. We remain committed to doing our part to help end the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The Moderna vaccine was granted conditional marketing authorisation for adults in the European Union on January 6.
The European Medicines Agency began a rolling review of Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine in children over the age of 12 earlier this month after the company said the vaccine was 100% effective in children between the ages of 12 and 15.
Meanwhile, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention are reviewing reports of heart inflammation in adolescents and young adults who received a COVID vaccine, according to the agency’s vaccine safety group.
Cases primarily occurred in male adolescents and young adults more often following the second dose of vaccination and appeared to be mild.
