The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized the use of booster shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 5-11.
The Center for Disease Control is expected to meet on Thursday to decide whether to recommend that children over the age of 5 receive the booster shots.
Pfizer and BioNTech late last month submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting authorization to administer a booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine to children aged 5-11.
The companies cited data from a Phase 2/3 trial, which they said indicated a “strong immune response” in the younger age group after a booster dose was administered six months after primary immunization with its COVID-19 vaccine.
In September, the FDA authorized a booster dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine for older adults and some Americans at high-risk of illness.
Reuters noted that it is unclear how much demand there is for the third dose in the 5 to 11 age group. Just 28.8% of children aged 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only coronavirus vaccine that has received approval to be administered to children at any age.