The United Arab Emirates has approved for emergency use the Pfizer-BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11, Reuters quotes the health ministry as saying.

Before this decision the only vaccine that had been approved for use in very young children was the Sinopharm vaccine which was approved for ages 3-17, with Pfizer shots being available to children above 12.

"The results of clinical studies indicated that the vaccine is safe and has given a strong immune response to children between the age of 5 and 11 years," the statement said of the Pfizer shots.