Pfizer vaccine authorised by US FDA for adolescents

The US has authorised the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds amid a push to get the shot into more Americans' arms.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it was "a significant step in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic".

FDA Commissioner Dr Janet Woodcock said the move was aimed at "bringing us close to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic".

Some 260 million doses have been given in the US, but demand has been falling.

Ms Woodcock added in her statement: "Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our Covid-19 vaccine emergency use authorisations."