When will the US have a Covid-19 vaccine for the youngest children?

It's been more than a year since adults first got Covid-19 vaccines, but about 18 million children under 5 in the US are still waiting -- and will probably have to wait until the summer, despite some predictions that shots would be available in the first part of 2022.

While Moderna has shared some data on two doses of Covid-19 vaccine for younger children, Pfizer and BioNTech's data on three doses for younger children is not yet available.
The US Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to consider emergency use authorization for both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for young children at the same time, rather than considering them separately, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, said Thursday.
"Two products that are similar but not identical, particularly with regard to the dose, and what the FDA wants to do is to get it so that we don't confuse people to say 'this is the dose. This is the dose regimen for children within that age group of 6 months to 5 years,' " Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN's Kasie Hunt.

Should you cancel your travel plans now that masks aren't required on planes and trains?
Should you cancel your travel plans now that masks aren't required on planes and trains?
The Pfizer vaccine was made to protect against the original strain of the coronavirus, and the initial series of two 3-milligram doses tested in kids under 5 wasn't powerful enough to keep them safe from the more infectious Omicron variant.

"It didn't meet the criteria for efficacy," Fauci said. "There was never a safety issue, but it didn't meet the criteria, which then had them go back and do a study with a third dose as a part of the primary regimen."
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the goal is to have its Covid-19 vaccine available for kids 4 and younger by summer.
"I hope, we will aim to make it in June," Bourla said on the "In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt" podcast, posted Monday. He said the FDA has been extremely collaborative and flexible during this testing and authorization process.

In a statement, the FDA said it couldn't comment on any particular company's Covid-19 vaccine EUA request but noted "that at this time, we do not have a complete EUA request in house to consider for children under 5 years of age."
"We continue to engage with companies to discuss their data, but we cannot adjudicate a decision on any vaccine without a complete EUA request, in order to allow us to do our thorough review. Any timeline on these actions is driven by when the data are provided to FDA and fully support a regulatory action," FDA spokesperson Abby Capobianco said.
While Moderna has shared some data on two doses of Covid-19 vaccine for younger children, Pfizer and BioNTech's data on three doses for younger children is not yet available.
The US Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to consider emergency use authorization for both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for young children at the same time, rather than considering them separately, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, said Thursday.
"Two products that are similar but not identical, particularly with regard to the dose, and what the FDA wants to do is to get it so that we don't confuse people to say 'this is the dose. This is the dose regimen for children within that age group of 6 months to 5 years,' " Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN's Kasie Hunt.

Should you cancel your travel plans now that masks aren't required on planes and trains?
Should you cancel your travel plans now that masks aren't required on planes and trains?
The Pfizer vaccine was made to protect against the original strain of the coronavirus, and the initial series of two 3-milligram doses tested in kids under 5 wasn't powerful enough to keep them safe from the more infectious Omicron variant.

"It didn't meet the criteria for efficacy," Fauci said. "There was never a safety issue, but it didn't meet the criteria, which then had them go back and do a study with a third dose as a part of the primary regimen."
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the goal is to have its Covid-19 vaccine available for kids 4 and younger by summer.
"I hope, we will aim to make it in June," Bourla said on the "In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt" podcast, posted Monday. He said the FDA has been extremely collaborative and flexible during this testing and authorization process.

In a statement, the FDA said it couldn't comment on any particular company's Covid-19 vaccine EUA request but noted "that at this time, we do not have a complete EUA request in house to consider for children under 5 years of age."
"We continue to engage with companies to discuss their data, but we cannot adjudicate a decision on any vaccine without a complete EUA request, in order to allow us to do our thorough review. Any timeline on these actions is driven by when the data are provided to FDA and fully support a regulatory action," FDA spokesperson Abby Capobianco said.

While Moderna has shared some data on two doses of Covid-19 vaccine for younger children, Pfizer and BioNTech's data on three doses for younger children is not yet available.
The US Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to consider emergency use authorization for both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for young children at the same time, rather than considering them separately, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, said Thursday.
"Two products that are similar but not identical, particularly with regard to the dose, and what the FDA wants to do is to get it so that we don't confuse people to say 'this is the dose. This is the dose regimen for children within that age group of 6 months to 5 years,' " Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN's Kasie Hunt.

Should you cancel your travel plans now that masks aren't required on planes and trains?
Should you cancel your travel plans now that masks aren't required on planes and trains?
The Pfizer vaccine was made to protect against the original strain of the coronavirus, and the initial series of two 3-milligram doses tested in kids under 5 wasn't powerful enough to keep them safe from the more infectious Omicron variant.

"It didn't meet the criteria for efficacy," Fauci said. "There was never a safety issue, but it didn't meet the criteria, which then had them go back and do a study with a third dose as a part of the primary regimen."
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the goal is to have its Covid-19 vaccine available for kids 4 and younger by summer.
"I hope, we will aim to make it in June," Bourla said on the "In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt" podcast, posted Monday. He said the FDA has been extremely collaborative and flexible during this testing and authorization process.

In a statement, the FDA said it couldn't comment on any particular company's Covid-19 vaccine EUA request but noted "that at this time, we do not have a complete EUA request in house to consider for children under 5 years of age."
"We continue to engage with companies to discuss their data, but we cannot adjudicate a decision on any vaccine without a complete EUA request, in order to allow us to do our thorough review. Any timeline on these actions is driven by when the data are provided to FDA and fully support a regulatory action," FDA spokesperson Abby Capobianco said.