Japan is set to authorize Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine for around 4 million children age 12 to 15 from as early as Monday, health minister Norihisa Tamura said Friday, following in the footsteps of the U.S. earlier this month.
A health ministry panel on Friday recommended easing the age restriction on when people can get the U.S. drugmaker’s shot — currently set at 16 years of age — without conducting an additional clinical trial in the country. Tamura said the move would take effect after the government amends its guidelines on the emergency use of the vaccine.
“I’d like children to be inoculated as soon as possible, so I’d like to ask local governments to streamline the system for that,” he told reporters.