A Moderna vaccine
(Picture: PA Wire)Moderna has applied for approval of its vaccine for children under the age of six in the US.
It would make it the first vaccine available for kids under the age five.
As of yet, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine which is the only one authorised for children aged five and over.
Moderna released trial data in March showing its vaccine was safe and generated a similar immune response in young children as for adults.
Moderna’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton said: “This does represent an important area of unmet need.
"There’s no other vaccine, no other therapy, that these little kids can have.
"If they do judge the data to be sufficient, I think from a public health perspective, offering it to these children as quickly as possible is the best thing.”
In March, Moderna released data which showed two doses of the vaccine was 37 per cent effective in preventing infection between two and five-year-olds.
The shot’s efficacy rose to 51 per cent for children between six months and two-years-old.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 per cent of children aged five to 11 are fully vaccinated, 35 per cent have received one dose.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is available for children between the age of five to 11-years-old in the US.
In the UK, however, the Government approved the Moderna jab for those between the age of six to 11 in March.
