The US Food and Drug Administration has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for infants and small children, the Associated Press reports.
The agency had been considering vaccines from both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech this week. An independent advisory panel voted unanimously in favor of authorizing vaccines for small children. Now with this authorization, SARS-CoV-2 vaccines may soon be available to children 6 months old to under 5 years old — previously, only Pfizer's vaccine was authorized for children five years old and older.
The FDA additionally authorized Moderna's vaccine for older children and teenagers, the AP adds. Its vaccine is already approved for adults, and earlier this week an FDA panel endorsed authorizing it for children and teens between the ages of 6 and 17.
The AP notes that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky needs to give a final OK but adds that she has said her team will be working over the federal holiday weekend "because we understand the urgency of this for American parents."