Under a Biden Administration plan, about 10 million vaccine doses are ready for states, pharmacies, and other entities to order in anticipation of vaccines being authorized for young children, CNN reports.
It adds that advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration are to meet next week to discuss whether vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech should be authorized for children more than six months of age to under the age of 5.
In May, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their SARS-CoV-2 generated a strong immune response among young children and that it would be seeking an Emergency Use Authorization for its vaccine from the FDA. Moderna likewise announced in April that it had asked the FDA for an EUA for its vaccines for small children.
As CNN notes, the FDA advisors are expected to recommend the vaccines be authorized, prompting these vaccine pre-orders as well as the establishment of vaccination sites, including at pharmacies and schools. It adds that an initial million doses were available for pre-order last week and that 2.3 million of those have been requested.