WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — If given final approval, children ages 5 to 11 could be given two lower doses of the Pfizer vaccine spaced out three weeks apart.
On Tuesday, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted to recommend child-size Pfizer's COVID- 19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. Immersed in the process is Dr. Carrie Firestone.
"My heart skipped a beat. I watched the vote so I got very excited about it," she said.
While Tuesday's green light is a significant step, it's a process that still needs the full FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to weigh in on in the coming days.
If both give the green light, it is possible for parents to start having their children receive shots early in November.
Firestone knows something about this process and the clinical trials involved. She enrolled her 6-year-old daughter in a Moderna trial.
"I wanted my kids vaccinated because I want to prevent illness," she said. "I'm not worried about them dying. I want them to stay healthy."
FDA panel members acknowledged their latest decision was a difficult one but said the benefits outweigh the risks.
Parents seem to be mixed on whether or not they will get their young children vaccinated right away.
"I wouldn't give a vaccine to a child, especially a new vaccine. They don't need it," Bridgett Marx said.
Her friend, Shannon Sherwood, felt the same way.
"I wouldn't give my kids any of the vaccines, Pfizer or any of them, Johnson & Johnson, none of them," she said. "I don't think it's good for the kids."