Pfizer and BioNTech announced Wednesday that their coronavirus vaccine was found to be 100% effective at protecting against COVID-19 in a trial of more than 2,200 children between the ages of 12 and 15.

The big picture: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the companies plan to submit clinical trial data to the FDA for emergency use authorization in the coming weeks, with the hope of vaccinations for adolescents beginning before the start of the next school year.

• The trial's data will also be submitted to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for emergency use authorization.

What they're saying: "Across the globe, we are longing for a normal life. This is especially true for our children," said Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech.

• "The initial results we have seen in the adolescent studies suggest that children are particularly well protected by vaccination, which is very encouraging given the trends we have seen in recent weeks regarding the spread of the B.1.1.7 UK variant," he added.

Details: The clinical trial was conducted in the U.S. with 2,260 adolescents ages 12 to 15.

• The vaccines illustrated "100% efficacy and robust antibody responses," and achieved better results than a previous study conducted on 16-25 year olds.
• 18 cases of COVID-19 were observed in the group of participants who received a placebo, while none were observed in those who were vaccinated.
• Pfizer and BioNTech also announced that the first doses were administered last week in a trial of children ages six months to 11 years