The vaccine chief for the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Peter Marks, said Friday that he is “very, very hopeful” that a Covid-19 vaccine will be available by end of year for children ages 5 to 11, according to the Associated Press.
Once companies finalize their vaccine study results, Dr. Marks expects the federal agency to expedite their evaluation and analysis of the vaccine. Pfizer and BioNTech have previously said they expect to share their study results with the Food and Drug Administration in coming weeks.
Covid-19 vaccines are currently available and authorized for emergency use for children as young as 12 years old. The federal agency recently provided full authorization for the Covid-19 vaccine in people as young as 16.