FDA greenlights COVID vaccines for youngest children
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized two COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)/ BioNTech (BNTX) and Moderna (MRNA) on Friday, allowing their use in children as young as six months.
The FDA amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) granted for the Pfizer (PFE)/ BioNTech (BNTX) vaccine to include children aged 6 months to 4 years of age. And the agency amended the EUA granted for Moderna (MRNA) vaccine to add individuals aged 6 months to 17 years.

âAs we have seen with older age groups, we expect that the vaccines for younger children will provide protection from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19, such as hospitalization and death,â FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still needs to recommend the shots before a nationwide rollout of vaccines can begin for the age group. A decision in this regard is expected during the weekend.
The FDA authorization followed an AdCom meeting in which an independent group of experts advising the agency endorsed the two messenger-RNA-based shots on Wednesday.