FDA Authorizes Pfizer's Low-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine for Kids

The U.S. moved a step closer to expanding COVID-19 vaccinations for millions more children as the Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized kid-size doses of Pfizer’s shots for 5- to 11-year-olds.

Earlier this week, an FDA advisory panel voted unanimously, with one abstention, that the vaccine’s benefits in preventing COVID-19 in that age group outweigh any potential risks. That includes questions about a heart-related side effect that’s been very rare in teens and young adults despite their use of a much higher vaccine dose.

While children are far less likely than older people to get severe COVID-19, ultimately many panelists decided it’s important to give parents the choice to protect their youngsters — especially those at high risk of illness or who live in places where other precautions, like masks in schools, aren’t being used.

“This is an age group that deserves and should have the same opportunity to be vaccinated as every other age,” said panel member Dr. Amanda Cohn of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Following the FDA’s approved Friday, there’s still another step: Next week, the CDC will have to decide whether to recommend the shots and which youngsters should get them.

This is a developing story