On Friday, October 29, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children aged 5-11. The FDA approval is a huge step towards vaccinations for children in that age group and was based on data showing the a smaller dose of the vaccine to have a  90.7% efficacy rate  of effectiveness in preventing COVID-19 for children 5-11 years old.

The next procedural step will see officials from the Centers for Disease Control of Prevention (CDC) meeting this week to consider recommending the vaccine for use with such children and to issue guidance for vaccine distribution, outreach and resources.. CDC approval would then allow the vaccination process to begin.

As a result, school systems across the country are in various stages of planning for a potential rollout, including hosting vaccine clinics on campus, hiring additional staff, issuing communications to families, and handling parental permissions for students to get a shot.

The FDA panel recommended a two-shot regime of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for elementary-aged students. Each dose would be one-third the amount of an adult shot.

At this point, vaccines for 5-11 year-olds would likely be available within the in early November, which would allow children to be fully immunized by the winter holidays if they follow the two-dose regime spaced 21 days apart.

Sources include the FDA and BioPharma Dive.