What happened
Shares of BioNTech (BNTX 0.18%) were up by 5.6% as of 3:24 p.m. ET Tuesday. The gain came after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer (PFE 0.10%) and BioNTech to include booster doses for 5- through 11-year-olds.
So what
So far, more than 8 million children in that age range have received a primary two-dose series of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, now being marketed as Comirnaty. The expanded EUA allows these children to receive a booster dose as soon as five months after receiving the second dose in the primary series.
This FDA decision probably won't result in any near-term financial impact for BioNTech. The federal government already has a supply deal in place with Pfizer and BioNTech for 600 million doses of the companies' COVID-19 vaccine. Around 432 million of those doses have been delivered thus far.
However, investors welcomed some much-needed positive news for BioNTech. The vaccine stock is down more than 60% from its 52-week high.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
BioNTech and Pfizer have also filed a request with the European Medicines Agency for authorization to administer booster doses to the same age group in the European Union. The companies plan to submit similar applications to other regulatory agencies around the world soon.
