WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators are urging drugmaker Pfizer to apply for emergency authorization for a two-dose regimen of its COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months to 5 years old. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive regulatory issues. The Biden administration aims to clear the way for the shots as soon as late February. The company’s application was expected to be submitted as soon as Tuesday. Early Pfizer data has shown the vaccine — which is administered to younger kids at one-tenth the strength of the adult shot — is safe and produces an immune response.
Photo: FILE – Jamie Onofrio Franceschini, 11, watches as RN Rosemary Lantigua prepares a syringe with her first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children five to 12 years at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Nov. 3, 2021, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
