You can think of it like this: When it comes to vaccines, the FDA is in charge of the what and the CDC is in charge of the who.

The CDC's vaccine advisory group will meet soon after the FDA has completed its evaluation. After more presentations and more discussion, the group of CDC advisers will vote to recommend the vaccine for all children in the 6 month to 5 year age group, or it could also recommend limiting it to a subset of that age group (for example, children with underlying conditions or those who haven't had a prior coronavirus infection).

Step 5: CDC director makes final recommendation

The vote from the CDC's advisers isn't an official recommendation — that comes from the CDC's director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

She needs to greenlight the advisers' recommendation. She can change the recommendation from what the committee voted on — as she did with boosters — but she usually follows its lead.

Only after the CDC director issues an official recommendation can shots get distributed to pediatricians and pharmacies around the country.

Step 6: Doses get distributed to providers and pharmacies

After an initial crunch when vaccines for 5- to 11-year-old kids were first approved, shots soon became widely available. Since many pediatricians' offices have had months of practice administering Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines to older kids, it's likely that the rollout for little kids and babies will go smoothly.

Experts suggest looking out for guidance from your child's pediatrician and school about where shots will be available and when. Parents should also be able to find pharmacies with these low-dose pediatric COVID-19 shots in stock at vaccines.gov, a CDC website that helps people who want COVID-19 vaccines figure out where to go.