The COVID-19 vaccine developed jointly by BioNTech and Pfizer should be receiving the results from trials testing the shots in babies as young as 6 months old by September 2021, the company's CEO, Uğur Şahin, said.

"In July, the first results could be available for the 5 to 12-year-olds, in September for the younger children," Şahin told German magazine Spiegel. He added it takes about four to six weeks to evaluate the data.

"If all goes well, as soon as the data is evaluated, we will be able to submit the application for approval of the vaccine for all children in the respective age group in different countries," he said.

BioNTech and Pfizer asked U.S. regulators this month to approve the emergency use of their vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 15.

Şahin was quoted by Spiegel as saying the company was "in the final stages before submission" to European regulators for children aged 12 and older.

A trial published at the end of March found the companies' COVID-19 vaccine was safe, effective and produces robust antibody responses in adolescents.

The Pfizer-BioNTech two-shot vaccine is already authorized for use in those aged 16 and above.

Young people are less likely to suffer severe cases of COVID-19 and more likely to have an asymptomatic infection, allowing them to unwittingly transmit COVID-19 to others.