Officials: Millions of COVID-19 shots ordered for youngest

By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — White House officials say orders have been coming in for COVID-19 vaccine doses for small children. Federal authorization of shots for U.S. kids under 5 is possible next week. The government last week began allowing pharmacies and states to place orders, with 5 million doses initially available. So far, about 1.45 million of the 2.5 million available doses of Pfizer have been ordered. About 850,000 of available Moderna shots have been ordered. Young children are the only group of Americans not yet eligible to get COVID-19 vaccinations. Up to about 20 million U.S. children under 5 would become eligible for vaccination if the government authorizes one or both shots.