The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized both Moderna's and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use in kids as young as 6 months, bringing the U.S. one giant step closer to protecting its youngest citizens against the coronavirus.
The agency's decision arrived after a group of independent advisers voted unanimously on Wednesday to recommend the shots. Pfizer's three-dose regimen has now been authorized for use in children ages 6 months to 4 years old, while Moderna's two-dose regimen is now cleared for children ages 6 months to 5 years old.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
A wine-themed tour of beautiful UruguayThe Week Recommends Secret paradise in South America boasts beautiful vineyards
-
Romanian democracy: no place for the 'TikTok messiah' Calin GeorgescuTalking Point State is 'fighting back' against poster boy for right-wing conspiracists
-
5 terrifically taxing cartoons about tariffsCartoons Artists take on rising prices, dumb ideas, and more
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozensSpeed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study findsSpeed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cowsSpeed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study findsSpeed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addictionSpeed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pillSpeed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
-
HMPV is spreading in China but there's no need to worryThe Explainer Respiratory illness is common in winter
