FDA authorizes 1st COVID-19 shots for infants, preschoolers

U.S. regulators on Friday authorized the first COVID-19 shots for infants and preschoolers, paving the way for vaccinations to begin next week.

The Food and Drug Administration’s action follows its advisory panel’s unanimous recommendation for the shots from Moderna and Pfizer. That means U.S. kids under 5 — roughly 18 million youngsters — are eligible for the shots. The nation’s vaccination campaign began about 11⁄2 years ago with older adults, the hardest hit during the coronavirus pandemic.

There’s one step left: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends how to use vaccines. Its independent advisers began debating the two-dose Moderna and the three-dose Pfizer vaccines on Friday and will make its recommendation Saturday. A final signoff is expected soon after from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

At a Senate hearing Thursday, Walensky said her staff was working over the Juneteenth federal holiday weekend “because we understand the urgency of this for American parents.”

She said pediatric deaths from COVID-19 have been higher than what is generally seen from the flu each year.

“So I actually think we need to protect young children, as well as protect everyone with the vaccine and especially protect elders,” she said.

The FDA also authorized Moderna’s vaccines for schoolaged children and teens; CDC’s review is next week. Pfizer’s shots had been the only option for those age groups.

For weeks, the Biden administration has been preparing to roll out the vaccines for little kids, with states, tribes, community health centers and pharmacies preordering millions of doses. With FDA’s emergency use authorization, manufacturers can begin shipping vaccine across the country. The shots are expected to start early next week.

Without protection for their tots, some families had put off birthday parties, vacations and visits with grandparents.

“Today is a day of huge relief for parents and families across America,“President Joe Biden said in a statement.

While young children generally don’t get as sick from COVID-19 as older kids and adults, their hospitalizations surged during the omicron wave and FDA’s advisers determined that benefits from vaccination outweighed the minimal risks. Studies from Moderna and

Pfizer showed side effects, including fever and fatigue, were mostly minor.

“As we have seen with older age groups, we expect that the vaccines for younger children will provide protection from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19, such as hospitalization and death,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement.

Dr. Beth Ebel of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, said the tot-sized vaccines would be especially welcomed by parents with children in day care where outbreaks can sideline parents from jobs, adding to financial strain.

“A lot of people are going to be happy and a lot of grandparents are going to be happy, too, because we’ve missed those babies who grew up when you weren’t able to see them,” Ebel said.