FDA Authorizes Pfizer COVID-19 for Emergency Use in Children Aged 5 to 11

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday issued an emergency authorization to use Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 5 through 11, coming days after an advisory panel recommended it.

But before the shots can be distributed across the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must first sign off on the move.

“As a mother and a physician, I know that parents, caregivers, school staff, and children have been waiting for today’s authorization. Vaccinating younger children against COVID-19 will bring us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy,” acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in a statement Friday.

The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted overwhelmingly to back a smaller dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine for younger children. Children aged 12 and older have been eligible to get the vaccine for months.