THE PHILIPPINE Food and Drug Administration confirmed on Sunday that Pfizer-BioNTech had applied for emergency use authorization of its vaccine on children aged 5 to 11.

“Sa ngayon meron tayong application galing sa Pfizer for 5 to 11 years old. Sinubmit nila ito last week. Ito ang ine-evaluate ngayon ng ating vaccine experts,” FDA Director General Eric Domingo said.

“So may possibility na baka mabigyan ng EUA before the end of the year,” he added.

Domingo pointed out that safety and monitoring data abroad showed that the Pfizer vaccine has not led to serious adverse effects among children.

“Maganda naman. In fact, lower dose ang ginagamit sa mga bata dahil siyempre mas maliit 5 to 11 years old. Walang nakikita na anything unusual o signal na nakakapangamba o nakakatakot. I’m quite confident na once ma-submit nila ang data, masa-satisfy ang mga experts,” he added.

Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac earlier submitted an application for EUA for its vaccine to be used on children aged 3 to 17.

Domingo said that medical experts are asking for more data.

The FDA chief said that Moderna has yet to apply for an EUA.

So far, only Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been authorized to be used on minors aged 12 to 17.