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The corona vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer has shown one hundred percent effectiveness in adolescents in a registration study.

The immune responses of the study participants exceeded the "robust antibody responses" of vaccinated 16 to 25-year-olds, the tolerance was "good", the companies announced on Wednesday in Mainz and New York.

The data have not yet been checked by independent experts and have not yet been published in any journal.

According to the New York Times, experts were pleased with the results: "Oh my god, I'm so happy to see that - that's amazing," the newspaper quoted Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University.

The vaccinated children were not found to be infected or have any serious side effects.

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The Mainz-based pharmaceutical company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer want to submit the data from a so-called phase three study with adolescents that is relevant for approval to the US FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in the coming weeks.

In the USA and the EU, their vaccine has so far only been approved for people aged 16 and over.

Other vaccines are only inoculated from the age of 18.

The companies spoke of “very high antibody responses” among study participants aged twelve to 15 years.

This is an encouraging sign in the fight against the corona pandemic.

The goal is now to expand vaccinations "as quickly as possible" to this age group.

"It is very important to enable children to return to normal school life and to meet family and friends," said Biontech founder Ugur Sahin on Wednesday.

Studies with younger children too

The two companies have now also started approval studies on the effectiveness and safety in children between six months and eleven years of age.

According to Biontech and Pfizer, participants between the ages of five and eleven received their first dose of vaccine last week.

Starting next week, participants between the ages of two and five should also receive a first dose.

A second vaccination is planned every three weeks.

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The vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer, which is based on so-called messenger RNA technology, is one of four corona vaccines that have now been approved in the EU.

It is used across the board on a large scale.

According to their own statements, both companies want to deliver up to two and a half billion cans worldwide this year.

The EU will receive 500 million of this and, according to Biontech, has an option for a further hundred million doses.

Two doses are required for complete immunization.

Experts in the USA hope to achieve herd immunity more quickly by vaccinating children.

"The sooner we can vaccinate as many people as possible, regardless of their age, the sooner we will be able to stop this pandemic for good," said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Georgetown University in Washington.

Data from Israel suggest that vaccination in adults alone can significantly reduce the number of cases.

"However, to reach the herd immunity threshold in the long term, we need to vaccinate children," she said.