COVID-19 updates: 70% of American adults fully vaccinated

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky approved the agency's recommendations for administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children between 5 and 11 years old.

Vaccinations for this age group, which includes over 28 million children, can begin as early as Wednesday morning.

The two-dose vaccine has been approved for an emergency use for children 12 to 15 years old and for full authorized use for patients above 16 years old.

Hartford HealthCare was one of the first locations in the country to administer the vaccine to kids Tuesday evening. The young patients cheered and gave doctors high fives after they received their shots.

-ABC News' Eric Strauss

Two major pharmacy chains announced Tuesday evening they are getting ready to offer Pfizer COVID-19 shots to children 5 to 11 years-old.

Pending signoff from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, which could happen as early as Tuesday night, Walgreens told ABC News it expects to begin administering shots to that age group starting Saturday.

Walgreens said its online scheduler for children's appointments will be available starting Wednesday.

The Pfizer pediatric vaccine will arrive "later this week in select locations throughout the country," CVS said in a statement. Appointments will be available at individual stores after each receives vaccines.

-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik

An independent CDC advisory panel voted "yes" Tuesday to recommend the Pfizer vaccine for the roughly 28 million children ages 5 to 11 in the U.S. 

The vote was unanimous.

"The data supports that we have one more vaccine that that saves lives of children and that we should be very confident to employ it to the maximum," panel member Dr. Sarah Long said.

“I think we I feel that I have a responsibility to make the vaccine available. If I had a grandchild, I would certainly get that grandchild vaccinated as soon as possible," said panel member Dr. Beth Bell.

Next, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky must sign off; no pediatric vaccinations will start until Walensky gives the green light. If that happens Tuesday evening, shots could start going into younger children's arms beginning Wednesday.

The CDC's expert on myocarditis, a rare heart inflammation condition that's been linked to the vaccine, said Tuesday that he believes the benefits of the vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds outweighs the potential risks of myocarditis.

"The bottom line is: getting COVID, I think, is much riskier to the heart than getting this vaccine, no matter what age or sex," Dr. Matt Oster said.

None of the more than 3,000 children in the age 5 to 11 clinical trials developed myocarditis from the vaccine, which has been seen in a rare number of cases, mostly among young men. 

Oster said, "I believe it's less likely that the 5- to 11-year-olds will have myocarditis. Although we will watch and see for sure, and they may have some, but I don't think it's going to be nearly to the extent of the older adolescents and young adults."

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett