Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were granted emergency authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Moderna's two-dose vaccine for children aged six months to five years and Pfizer's three-dose vaccine for children less than four years old were approved by the agency.
Robert Califf, FDA chief, said in a statement that many parents, caregivers, and clinicians have been waiting for a vaccine for younger children.
The vaccines for younger children are expected to provide protection from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19.
The European Medicines Agency will be one of the regulators Pfizer will submit requests for authorization to.
"Parents in the US now have the option to vaccine their children under 5 years of age, and we are working to ensure that other countries worldwide will follow," said Ugur Sahin, CEO, and co- founder of Germany's BioNTech, which developed the vaccine together with
After a meeting of an advisory committee of experts that is expected to be held soon, a final green light will be given for the vaccines to be used in the US.
As soon as the FDA decision was made, 10 million doses could be sent around the country.
The immune system is trained to be ready by the vaccines, which deliver genetic code for the coronaviruses spike to human cells. The technology is used in a lot of COVID vaccinations.
Thousands of children were given the vaccine. Similar levels of mild side effects were found to be caused by them as in older age groups.
Pfizer put the efficacy against infections at 80 percent, compared to Moderna's estimate of 51 percent for children six months to two years old and 37 percent for children two to five years old.
The Pfizer figure is a preliminary one. The first shot is given three weeks after the second and the third is given eight weeks later.
Moderna's vaccine should protect against severe disease after two doses, and the company is studying adding a booster that would raise efficacy levels.
Moderna's decision to go with a higher dose of the vaccine is associated with higher levels of infections.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said they were thrilled that the FDA granted emergency use authorization for the vaccine.
Bancel said that children need to live highly social lives to thrive. caregivers for young children ages 6 months through 5 years of age finally have a way to safeguard against COVID risks in classroom and daycare settings
The United States, home to 20 million children four years and under, has recorded 480 deaths in that group in the Pandemic, according to the FDA.
A quarter of the group's hospitalizations required intensive care.
Agence France- Presse.
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