Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci, has said that COVID-19 vaccines for children between the ages of five and 11 will likely be available in the first half of November 2021, Reuters news agency reported on Monday.

Dr Fauci was quoted as saying in an interview with ABC's This Week on Sunday: "If all goes well, and we get the regulatory approval and the recommendation from the CDC, it's entirely possible if not very likely that vaccines will be available for children from five to 11 within the first week or two of November."

Reportedly, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials are reviewing the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)/BioNTech (Nasdaq:BNTX) application seeking authorisation of its two-dose vaccine for younger children, with its panel of outside advisers scheduled to weigh in on Tuesday.

Once authorised, about 28 million more children in the United States would be eligible to receive what would be the first US COVID-19 vaccine for younger children.

The Pfizer/BioNTech shot is already available to those ages 12-17 and the companies are still studying it for children younger than five years of age.