Pfizer and BioNTech have started testing their COVID-19 vaccine on children aged under 12, with the aim of having jabs for that age range by early 2022, the pharmaceutical firms have said.

The first volunteers in the early-stage trial were given their initial injections on Wednesday, Pfizer spokesperson Sharon Castillo said.

The vaccine by U.S. firm Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech has been authorized by U.S. regulators for people aged 16 and older since late December and nearly 66 million doses of the vaccine has been administered in the country, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The pediatric trial, which will include children as young as six months, follows a similar one launched by Moderna last week.

Only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is being used in 16 and 17-year-olds in the U.S., as Moderna's shot was cleared for those aged 18 and older, and no COVID-19 vaccine has yet been authorized for use on younger children.

Pfizer and BioNTech plan to initially test the safety of their two-shot vaccine at three different dosages: 10, 20 and 30 micrograms, in a 144 participant Phase I/II trial.

They plan to later expand to a 4,500 participant late-stage trial, in which they will test the safety, tolerability and immune response generated by the vaccine, likely by measuring antibody levels in the youngsters.

Castillo said the companies hope to have data from the trial in the second half of 2021.

Meanwhile, Pfizer has been testing the vaccine in children from age 12 to 15. The company expects to have data from that trial in the coming weeks, Castillo said.