Biden administration expects pre-orders for kids’ COVID-19 shots to pick up
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Commenting on the pre-orders of COVID-19 vaccines for children under five, senior officials of the Biden administration say that they are not too worried about the sluggish initial demand and expect the pace to improve following federal decisions scheduled for next week.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are expected to decide on the emergency use authorization of the vaccines developed by Pfizer (PFE)/BioNTech (BNTX) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) for the age group next week. 
Last week, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Ashish Jha said that the immunization drive for children under five would begin as early as June 21.
The administration has permitted states and others to pre-order the doses from an initial batch of 5M Moderna (MRNA) vaccines and 2.5M Pfizer (PFE)/BioNTech (BNTX) vaccines to speed up the vaccine rollout.
So far, 58% of the available 2.5M Pfizer (PFE)/BioNTech (BNTX) vaccines and 34% of the Moderna (MRNA) vaccines have been ordered, the officials said Wednesday.
"Our experience has been that people are slow to order and this has been true across each of the times we've opened up ordering," a senior administration official said, adding, "we're not too worried or focused on that. We'll continue to do the outreach."
The administration has learned from previous vaccination campaigns that the peopleâs decisions over whether to take a vaccine or get their children vaccinated will be influenced by those they trust, such as doctors and community leaders.
"We are going to meet people where they are and answer their messages, the officials noted.
The officials said that they would wait until the regulatory decisions to discuss the specific messaging on the efficacy and safety of the vaccines.
In April, Moderna (MRNA) filed for a EUA request for its COVID-19 vaccine targeting children aged six months to six years, and Pfizer (PFE)/BioNTech (BNTX) completed their submissions early this month.