US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisers recommended authorizing Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children aged between six and 17 years old, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The panel of experts will meet again on Wednesday to consider Moderna shots for children under 6, and Pfizer shots for children under 5.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was approved for children aged between 5 to 11 years old.
Around 30% of children whose ages ranged between five and 11 years old, and 60% of the children aged between 12 and 17 years old are fully vaccinated in the US, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Committee Member and UC Berkeley professor Dr. Arthur Reingold said: "I'd like to give parents as many choices as possible, and let them make the decisions about this for their children."
Last April, the US drugmaker Moderna announced that it had submitted a request for an emergency use approval for its COVID-19 vaccine for children ages ranging between 6 months and 6 years.
Moderna’s Chief Executive, Stephane Bancel, said in a statement: “We believe [this vaccine] will be able to safely protect these children against SARS-CoV-2, which is so important in our continued fight against COVID -19 and will be especially welcomed by parents and caregivers.”
On the other hand, leading drug-makers Pfizer and BioNTech submitted a request to get the approval of the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) for booster shots for children between 5 and 11.
The request from the drug-makers came after a new study showed that the booster shots could give children strong immune response against COVID-19.
The booster dose will be given to children six months after receiving the essential doses.
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