Covid vaccine for younger kids being shipped in anticipation of CDC final approval

WASHINGTON, DC -- The go-ahead for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11 could happen this week.

The Food and Drug Administration has already authorized the Pfizer vaccine for children, after they determined it had met the criteria for emergency use authorization. The shots deliver about one-third of the vaccine given to adults.

Now, the Centers for Disease Control’s vaccine advisors are set to vote Tuesday as they meet to consider recommendations for administering the vaccine to children in this age group.

After the CDC advisers make their recommendations, agency director Dr. Rochelle Walensky will give the final order to officially greenlight it.

The White House says the Biden administration is already assembling and shipping millions of doses for children. This comes as they anticipate the final approval, so the first shots could go into kids’ arms by midweek.

The U.S. has enough vaccine for all 28 million children in the age bracket.

But only about a quarter of parents say they'll get their kids vaccinated right away, and two-thirds say they're worried it could affect their child's future fertility.

According to polling done by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 32% of parents said they will wait and see or they will not get them vaccinated, while 31% said they will only do so if it's required.

To vaccinate children under the age of 12, parental or caregiver consent is required in all states.

If you have a question about the Pfizer vaccine and kids that you'd like answered by a doctor, you can submit those by going to kvia.com/share.

(The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.)