U.S. FDA advisers back COVID vaccines for children as young as 6 months

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.

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.

While many American parents are eager to vaccinate their children, its unclear how strong the demand will be for the shots. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was authorized for children ages 5 to 11 in October, but only about 29% of that group is fully vaccinated.