Pfizer and BioNTech on Friday announced that they had asked the Food and Drug Administration to grant full approval to their COVID-19 vaccine for use in adolescents as young as 12.
The companies added in a press release that they would also file similar applications with the European Medicines Agency and "other regulatory authorities around the world" in the weeks ahead.
The Pfizer vaccine is already available for adolescents under emergency use authorization, though the shots have been granted full FDA approval for everyone aged 16 and up.
Pfizer's vaccine remains the only anti-COVID-19 shot to receive full FDA approval. Moderna applied for full approval for its COVID-19 vaccine for use in adults in August, though the agency is still weighing the application.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 83% of Americans aged 12 and older have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. About 71% of those 12 and older are fully vaccinated.
