CDC advisory panel recommends allowing Moderna vaccine for children 6 to 17

June 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions' independent advisory panel recommended Thursday to allow Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children between 6 and 17, the public health agency confirmed.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted unanimously to recommend making the Moderna shot the second in the United States available for children.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky needs to sign off on the recommendation, which is expected. She has given the green light to all previous COVID-19 recommendations made by the ACIP.

The only COVID-19 vaccine currently authorized for use in children in that age group is Pfizer's two-dose mRNA vaccine.

The CDC made both vaccines available Saturday for children 5 and under, three days after U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists gave them the green light. Those shots started being delivered Tuesday on a large scale.

"COVID-19 vaccines have undergone & continue to undergo the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history," Walensky tweeted Thursday.

There are nearly 20 million children between 6 months a 5 years old in the United States.

In April, Moderna announced it had redesigned its COVID-19 booster to ignite a stronger immune response against the Beta, Delta and Omicron variants.