US authorizes Pfizer shots for adolescents

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday said children from 12 to 15 years old can receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, providing a way for more of the country to return to normal. Canada was the first country to expand the vaccine’s use to children younger than 16. The process could begin as soon as Thursday.

How is vaccine distribution going for other countries? Germany has recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine for all adults and offered a similar approval for the Johnson & Johnson shots on Monday. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele pledged to donate vaccines to seven towns in Honduras even as his country of 6.5 million people has only administered 1.25 million shots. Other nations like Chad, Haiti, and Burkina Faso have not received any vaccines.

Dig deeper: Read my earlier Sift on the FDA's authorization of the vaccine to teens.