The European Union has cleared Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine for use in children aged five to 11, the first jab to be approved in a cohort where the virus is rapidly spreading, reports AFP.

“I'm glad to tell you that Comirnaty from today has received approval for children five to 11 years of age,” said Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccine strategy at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), using the vaccine's brand name.

“This is based on a different dose in the one used in adults, essentially it's a much lower dose,” he told an online public meeting.

Children aged five to 11 will be given one third of the dose that older people receive, with two injections, three weeks apart, the EMA said in a statement.