CDC approves COVID vaccines for kids as young as 6 months

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky endorsed on Saturday an advisory committee's recommendation that the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines be approved for children aged six months to five years, CBS News reported.

CDC approval was the final step in getting shots into toddlers' arms after the Food and Drug Administration authorized COVID vaccines for kids on Friday.

The CDC said in a statement that "all Americans ages 6 months and older are now eligible for vaccination" and that "[a]ll children, including children who have already had COVID-19, should get vaccinated."

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The Moderna vaccine will be given to young children in the form of two quarter-strength injections one month apart, while the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be administered in three doses — each one-tenth the strength of those given to adults — over 11 weeks.

Most parents don't seem particularly eager to get their tots vaccinated. A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that only 18 percent of parents with children under five planned to vaccinate their kids as soon as possible.