The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved giving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to five to eleven year olds. 

The New York Times said the FDA on Friday gave the emergency authorization.

The approval comes after an FDA advisory panel, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, unanimously recommended the Pfizer shot for the younger age group.

Some 28 million five to eleven year olds in the U.S. will now be able to get vaccinated with two shots of a ten-microgram dose, which is a third of what's given to adults.

However the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still needs to issue a recommendation for actual inoculations to begin.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is set to hold a vote Tuesday and Wednesday, after which jabs could start as early as Wednesday.