CDC advisory committee recommends Pfizer's COVID vaccine for kids as young as 12

A panel of independent advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted on Wednesday to recommend Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents age 12 to 15, clearing one of the final remaining hurdles to making the shots available to all Americans as young as 12.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations are expected to be formally adopted by the CDC director, which would allow for a widespread rollout of shots for adolescents to begin within the coming days. Though the Food and Drug Administration already granted emergency use authorization for the vaccine in kids ages 12 to 15 on Monday, only a small handful of states — including Georgia and North Carolina — have so far directed providers in their states to begin giving the shots to adolescents.