FDA okays Covid shots for infants, preschoolers

Washington, June 17

US regulators on Friday authorised the first Covid 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 US kids under 5 — roughly 18 million youngsters — are eligible for the shots, about one and a half years after the vaccines first became available in the US for adults, who have been hit the hardest during the pandemic. The FDA also authorised Moderna’s vaccine for school-going children and teens. Pfizer’s shots had previously been the only ones available for those ages.

There’s one step left: The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recommends how to use vaccines and its vaccine advisers are set to discuss the shots for the youngest kids. — AP