An advisory panel to the US Food and Drug Administration has voted in favor of authorizing SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for small children, the New York Times reports.
Currently, SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are available for everyone in the US, except for infants and children under the age of 5. Both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have applied to the FDA for Emergency Use Authorizations for their vaccines for this young age group.
According to the Times, the FDA advisory panel voted 21-to-0 to recommend that both vaccines be given EUAs. It adds that the agency is expected to authorize Moderna's vaccine for children under 6 years of age but at least 6 months old and Pfizer-BioNTech's for children younger than 5 but at least 6 months old as early as Friday. NPR adds that, following a sign-off by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vaccines could be available soon.
"I feel incredibly relieved," Jessica Herring, a parent of a two-year-old, tells NPR. "Young children can finally have some protection beyond isolation and the actions of other people. It allows myself and other parents like me to finally breath a huge sigh of relief."