U.S. COVID-19 vaccine providers could receive about 10 million doses of Pfizer's shots for children younger than 5 by Feb. 25, if authorized by the FDA and recommended by the CDC, The Washington Post reported Feb. 10.
Pending authorization of the shots for young children, vaccine providers can expect the first half of the 10 million dose batch by Feb. 21 and the second by Feb. 25, according to a pediatric vaccination planning guide from the CDC.
Four more notes about vaccines for children under 5:
1. The federal government has secured enough supply to support vaccination of the nation's estimated 18 million children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years, pending authorization, according to the planning document.
2. Pfizer and BioNTech submitted an emergency use authorization request to the FDA for their two-dose COVID-19 vaccine regimen in young children earlier this month. An FDA advisory panel is set to meet Feb. 15 to discuss the request.
3. Pfizer's request is for a two-dose regimen, though it's likely three doses will be necessary, based on trial results indicating two doses didn't generate a strong immune response in 2- to 4-year olds. The drugmaker said it moved forward with the two-dose regimen request as it awaits trial data on a third shot, which likely won't be available until at least late March. If the two-dose series is authorized, "Parents will have the opportunity to begin a COVID-19 vaccination series for their children while awaiting potential authorization of a third dose."
4. The government has asked pediatric providers to enroll as COVID-19 vaccine providers to ensure they're able to vaccinate children under 5, as pharmacies may have limited abilities to do so once a shot is authorized for the age group.