The Biden administration is gearing up to roll out vaccines for children under age 5 in conjunction with educational and outreach efforts, if the shots are approved by federal regulators.
Vaccinations for children under age 5 could begin as soon as June 21 if the shots from Moderna
MRNA,
+2.19%
and Pfizer
PFE,
-0.91%
and partner BioNTech
BNTX,
+1.01%
are authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. Ten million initial doses will be made available, senior administration officials said.
If authorized,
the vaccinations would also be available through locations such as public-health clinics, community health centers and pharmacies. The administration also plans to make vaccinations available at more than 100 children’s hospitals and health systems as well as through pop-up clinics at children’s museums.
Children under 5 are the last age group ineligible for Covid-19 vaccines. Many parents have grown anxious to have young children vaccinated as the virus continues to spread nationwide. Vaccination rates for children between 5 and 18 years of age lag behind those for older people, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.
An FDA advisory committee will meet June 14-15 to review the data on the vaccinations. The CDC on June 17-18 will also review the data before a recommendation is made by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
An expanded version of this story appears on WSJ.com.
