Moderna Inc said on Thursday Canada authorized its COVID-19 vaccine for use in children between 6 and 11 years of age. The vaccine, branded Spikevax, was recently cleared for use among kids in the same age group in Australia and the European Union. Moderna last year said its two-dose vaccine generated virus-neutralizing antibodies in children aged 6-11 years and safety was comparable to that seen in clinical trials of adolescents and adults. The vaccine, based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, is approved in the United States for people aged 18 and above. The company is awaiting a decision from U.S. regulators on the use of its vaccine for children aged 12 through 17 years. Rival Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot is cleared in the United States for children as young as 5 years. Canada in August had authorized Moderna’s vaccine for adolescents. By Amruta Khandekar