FDA approves COVID booster shot for healthy children 5 to 11, CDC must give final OK

Federal regulators on Tuesday authorized a COVID-19 booster shot for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must now decide whether to formally recommend the booster, with the agency's advisory group set to meet Thursday.

A booster shot is already recommended for patients 12 and older, and some people, including those 50 and older, can choose to get a second booster, according to the Associated Press. 

The Food and Drug Administration’s authorization, if backed by the CDC, would allow elementary-age children to get a third shot of Pfizer’s vaccine – at least five months after their last dose.

Pfizer and its partner BioNTech make the only COVID-19 vaccine available for children of any age, the wire service also reports.