Britain's medicines regulator said on Friday it had extended approval of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech so it can be used on 12- to 15-year-olds.

"We have carefully reviewed clinical trial data in children aged 12 to 15 years and have 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," June Raine, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said.