FDA could authorize COVID vaccine for children 5 and under, and Novavax vaccine, this June

The Food and Drug Administration could authorize COVID-19 vaccine shots for children under 6 years old as early as June following key meetings of its outside advisers now tentatively scheduled for that month. It could also greenlight a new COVID vaccine from Novavax in June. 

Meetings of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) are now planned as many as four times in June to weigh a myriad of COVID-19 vaccine requests pending before the agency, the FDA said Friday. 

"As we continue to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there are a number of anticipated submissions and scientific questions that will benefit from discussion with our advisory committee members," Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA's top vaccines official, said in a statement.