LOS ANGELES, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Sunday that kid-sized doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine appear to be safe and effective for children aged under 5.

       The analysis by FDA scientists was posted online ahead of a meeting scheduled this Wednesday for the agency's independent experts, who will consider applications from both Pfizer and Moderna on vaccinating the nation's youngest children.

       Kids aged under 5 are the only group not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the United States.

       In its analysis of Pfizer's data, the FDA said that rates of hospitalization and death due to COVID-19 among children under 5 were higher than among those aged 5 to 17, "underscoring the benefit of an effective COVID-19 vaccine in this age group."

       The FDA also noted that among children aged 5 and older, who are already eligible for Pfizer's vaccine, the shots have helped prevent hospitalization and other serious outcomes, including during the current year, when the highly contagious Omicron variant and its rapidly evolving subvariants became the dominant forms of the virus.