<span style="color: #222222;">Britain's medicines regulator has approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for use on 12 to 15 years old children, following similar clearances in the US and the EU.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The chief executive of the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency June Raine said in a statement that her agency had carefully reviewed the clinical trial data in children aged 12 to 15 years old. She said, the regulator concluded that the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in this age group and that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh any risk.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Now, it would be up to the country's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, JCVI, to decide whether to go ahead and inoculate the age group as part of Britain's vaccination roll-out plan. Britain's Health and Social Care department said it would provide an update once the JCVI had made its decision.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Children aged 12-15 are already receiving the Pfizer shot in the United States, while France and Germany are planning to start offering it to that age group this month. However, giving vaccines to younger people in affluent countries while many parts of the world await doses for older and more vulnerable people has raised concerns. The World Health Organisation has urged rich countries to give shots to the COVAX scheme instead.</span><br />''  <br />