US regulators put brakes on Covid vaccine for children under five

FDA postpones key meeting, saying it needs to wait for data to show how well third Pfizer dose works for young children

US regulators on Friday put the brakes on their push to speed Pfizer's Covid vaccine to children under five, creating major uncertainty about how soon the shots could become available.

The Food and Drug Administration had urged Pfizer and its partner BioNTech to apply for authorization of extra-low doses of its vaccine for the youngest children before studies were even finished - citing the toll the Omicron variant has taken on children.