The government has authorized the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of five and eleven, the first in the country for that age group.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said on Wednesday that the approval was granted on the condition that Pfizer Korea submit a final report on their clinical studies.

In a study with three-thousand-109 children aged five to eleven, side effects were generally mild or moderate and were cleared within days following their inoculation. Vaccine efficacy was found to be 90-point-seven percent.

Developed specifically for children aged five to eleven, the vaccine’s dosage is ten micrograms, which is a third of the level administered to those aged 12 years and older.  

It is administered in two rounds with a three-week interval. Health authorities said they would announce vaccination plans for five to eleven-year-olds in March.