Adolescents aged 12 years old and up are now eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency made the announcement Monday, as it amended the emergency use authorization issued in December.

“The FDA’s expansion of the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age is a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “Today’s action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic.”

The FDA’s announcement comes days after the Texas Department of State Health Services encouraged pediatric providers to enroll in the COVID-19 vaccine program.

“Vaccinating adolescents will bring us closer to ending the pandemic and getting back to normal,” said DSHS Commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1.5 million adolescents between the age of 11 and 17 got sick with the coronavirus from March 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021. Experts at the CDC said children and adolescents generally have milder COVID-19 symptoms than adults.

“Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations,” the FDA’s Commissioner Woodcock added.