Advisers to the U.S Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday unanimously recommended the agency authorize COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna Inc and Pfizer/BioNTech for millions of the youngest American children.
The committee's recommendation is an important step toward immunizing children under the age of 5 and as young as 6 months old who have not yet been eligible for the shots.
The FDA is likely to authorize the shots soon. The U.S. government is planning for a June 21 start to its under-5 vaccination campaign should the vaccines receive FDA authorization, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha said last week.
Once the FDA authorizes the vaccines for the age group - 6 months to 4 years old for Pfizer/BioNTech and 6 months to 5 years old for Moderna - the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will make its recommendations on use of the shots in young children. A committee of the CDC's outside advisers is scheduled to meet on Friday and Saturday.