Pfizer asks FDA to authorize COVID booster for children ages 5-11

Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday asked the Food and Drug Administration to issue an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for children ages 5 through 11.

Kids who received a booster six months after the second dose of their initial shots "demonstrated a strong immune response," Pfizer said in a press release.

The pharmaceutical companies plan on submitting the data to the European Medicines Agency, as well as other global regulatory authorities, for authorization as well.

"The companies expect to share data from the ongoing study in children 6 months to under 5 years of age later this quarter," Pfizer added.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is authorized by the FDA under an EUA for anyone over the age of 5. 

Children five and older are already eligible to receive a third primary series Pfizer vaccine dose if they are immunocompromised. 

Kids 12 and up are able to receive a first booster dose under an EUA and may receive a second booster if they are immunocompromised.