Health Canada approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children 12 and up on Wednesday, prompting Alberta to announce it would offer the shot to kids in that age bracket as the province combats a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The vaccine announcement comes after a promising trial out of the United States, which Health Canada’s chief medical adviser said shows the vaccine is both safe and effective for kids in that age group.

“It will also support the return to a more normal life for our children, who have had such a hard time over the past year,” said Dr. Supriya Sharma, Health Canada’s chief medical adviser.

The shot had previously only been approved for those aged 16 and up.

The American trial of more than 2,200 youth between the ages of 12 and 15, which used the same size doses and two-dose requirement as the vaccine for adults, recorded no cases of COVID-19 among vaccinated kids.

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