US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky on Tuesday issued the final recommendation for an emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11.
"Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus that causes COVID-19. We know millions of parents are eager to get their children vaccinated and with this decision, we now have recommended that about 28 million children receive a COVID-19 vaccine," she said in a statement.
Walensky approved the move after the CDC’s advisers voted unanimously to recommend the vaccine for this age group.
The members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices spent close to an hour commenting in support of the recommendation before they voted, according to CNN.
The approval from Walensky caps off the process and allows the first shots to be administered by Wednesday morning.
This past Friday, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine received authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for children ages 5 to 11.
The vaccine is administered as a two-dose primary series, 3 weeks apart, but is a lower dose, 10 micrograms, than that used for individuals 12 years of age and older which is 30 micrograms.
Friday’s approval came three days after an FDA advisory panel endorsed Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.
17 members of the advisory panel voted in favor of the recommendation and one abstained.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, US President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, estimated on Sunday that children ages 5 to 11 in the United States may be able to receive their COVID-19 vaccine in the first two weeks of November once the shots are approved.