SHOTS FOR SCHOOL

Pfizer Testing COVID-19 Vax on Younger Kids for Fall Approval

The vaccine makers are hoping to submit applications to the Food and Drug Administration by September.

Pfizer and Moderna, the first two COVID-19 vaccine producers approved in the U.S., hope to have shots for children ready by the fall. Pfizer announced Tuesday it has begun testing on children aged 5 to 12, with hopes to apply for emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by September. It will also begin testing vaccines in children between 6 months and 2 years old in the coming weeks, with hopes to have results for them in either October or November. The news comes weeks after Pfizer’s vaccine was given emergency approval for children between 12 and 15, and almost three months after Moderna announced its own trials for children aged 6 months to 11, with its results set to be ready by the end of the summer. Moderna has also achieved success for children aged 12 to 17 and plans to apply for emergency use authorization this month. Last week, Moderna applied for full approval of its vaccine for adults.