Moderna applies for emergency use of COVID-19 vaccine for young children

April 28 (UPI) -- Moderna announced Thursday it has submitted a request to the Food and Drug Administration for authorization for its two-dose coronavirus vaccine to be used in children ages 6 months to 5 years.

The biotechnology company said in March that interim analysis showed "a robust" antibody response after a two-dose series of the COVID-19 drug.

"We are proud to share that we have initiated our EUA submission for authorization for our COVID-19 vaccine for young children," Stephane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna, said in a statement.

"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 it is also studying booster doses for all its pediatric cohorts. The company said its study is being conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

The announcement comes as federal health officials said earlier this week that 75% of children and teenagers have been infected with the coronavirus by February, sparked by the highly infectious Omicron variant of the virus.