Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 has been approved by an FDA panel.

The FDA’s vaccine advisory group decided on Oct. 26 to recommend that the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer be approved for children ages 5 to 11. Within the next several days, the FDA is anticipated to approve the vaccinations for the age range, following the advice of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. The vaccine advisory council of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet on November 2 and 3 to consider recommending the CDC approve the shot for the age group. The panel’s proposal must next be approved by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD. Pfizer’s injection would be administered to children aged 5 to 11 at one-third the dose provided to those aged 12 and up, with the doses spaced three weeks apart. The vaccines would be made available to an additional 28 million children if they were approved. According to The New York Times, seventeen members of the committee voted in favor of authorization and one abstained. According to the New York Times, children aged 5 to 11 account for 10.6% of all COVID-19 cases in the United States but only 8.7% of the population. Pfizer announced data on Oct. 22 indicating that the vaccine prevents symptomatic COVID-19 infection in children aged 5 to 11. On the same day, the FDA released a report stating that the advantages of Pfizer’s injections in this age range outweigh the dangers.

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