FDA advisers back Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for kids 5 to 11 years old

Pfizer's request to roll out COVID-19 vaccines for Americans as young as 5 years old cleared a key regulatory hurdle Tuesday, after a panel of the Food and Drug Administration's outside vaccine advisers voted by a majority to back Pfizer's request. 

The vote is a crucial step towards vaccinations for younger children, but not the final word. If the FDA decides to formally authorize the vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must also weigh in with its own recommendations before shots can be rolled out. 

"I do think we need it as a tool in our armamentarium for high risk children, for equity issues, for parents who really would like to protect their children, and because of the long term, very profound implications of schools being disrupted," Dr. Mark Sawyer, one of the panel's members, said ahead of the vote. 

Seventeen members of the committee voted in favor of authorizing the shots, and one abstained.

The decision follows a day-long meeting of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which has grappled for months with how to balance the benefits of the vaccine for younger children against the potential risks of rare side effects. 

Many of the panel's members voiced concern over some unanswered questions over rare side effects from the vaccine, but sided with allowing parents to weigh the benefits and risks for their children.