Shares of Pfizer Inc.
PFE,
+2.13%
gained 2.5% in trading on Wednesday after Canadian regulators said they authorized using the company's COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 12 and 15 years old. Pfizer developed the vaccine in partnership with BioNTech SE
BNTX,
+8.84%.
Health Canada said in a news release that this is the first coronavirus vaccine that has been authorized for this age group. The vaccine is also expected to receive emergency-use authorization for the same age group in the U.S. sometime in the next week. Pfizer's stock has gained 8.3% since these start of the year, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.43%
is up 11.6%.
Health Canada received an application to expand the indication of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine on April 16, 2021. The vaccine was initially authorized for use in people 16 years of age and older on December 9, 2020.