U.S. FDA advisers weigh Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in children

REUTERS/Dado RuvicAn expert panel will weigh authorization of Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and BioNTech's (22UAy.DE) COVID-19 vaccine for U.S. children aged 5 to 11 on Tuesday as it prepares to vote on a recommendation for the federal Food and Drug Administration.

An authorization is an important regulatory step toward reaching about 28 million children of these ages, most of them back in school for in-person learning.

The FDA need not follow the advice of its outside experts, but usually does.

While children rarely become seriously ill or die from COVID-19, some develop complications, and COVID-19 cases in unvaccinated children have risen...