FDA Authorizes Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use in Children Aged 5 to 11

Pharmacist Colleen Teevan reconstitutes the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine before having it administered to people at the Hartford Convention Center in Hartford, Connecticut, on Jan. 4, 2021. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday issued an emergency authorization to use Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 5 through 11, coming days after an advisory panel recommended it.

But before the shots can be distributed across the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must first sign off on the move.