Here’s a quick look at what’s next after FDA advisors voted to recommend the Moderna vaccine for children ages 6 to 17.

An independent expert panel advising the Food and Drug Administration voted on Tuesday to recommend the agency that Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine is approved for use in children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years.

The panel’s recommendation is an important step as federal regulators consider licensing vaccines to those children, but it’s not the final word. The FDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state health departments all have a role in deciding whether to add Moderna as an allowed option for that age group that could already receive the Pfizer vaccine. -BioNTech or not.

And applications from those two manufacturers are still pending for vaccines for younger children, who are not yet eligible for either of those manufacturers. They are being considered separately; The advisory board is expected to make recommendations on them on Wednesday.

Here are the next steps for the Moderna app for kids and teens ages 6 to 17.

FDA

• As the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that oversees drugs and related matters, FDA will review the advisory panel’s recommendations. The agency generally follows the advice of its advisory board, but is free to change or reject the proposal altogether.

• Upon completion of the review, FDA will make a decision.

CDC

• If the FDA allows vaccines for children and adolescents, another advisory board, the agency set up by the CDC, is expected to address the issue next week, officials familiar with the planning said. The panel will then vote on whether to recommend the vaccine for that age group.

• After deliberations by the panel, the director of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, provided agency guidance to healthcare providers about whether and when Moderna vaccine should be used in children children and adolescents.

• Like the FDA, CDC generally follows the non-binding recommendations of its advisory panel. But there are exceptions: Last September, after the CDC panel rejected the FDA’s recommendation to include frontline workers among those eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech booster, Dr. Walensky overwrites advisors to the CDC and sided with the FDA

Government agencies and suppliers

The CDC guidance has far-reaching implications for state health departments, physicians, pharmacies, health care facilities, and the public. Countries usually follow the guidelines, but may set their own rules.

Timeline

Once the FDA’s panel of experts makes its recommendations, the process can be quick. Last year, when the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was considered for use in adolescents 12 to 15 years of age, the FDA approved it on May 10, the CDC panel considered it two days later, and Proceedings Dr. Walensky issued instructions quickly afterwards. As of May 13, the shots have been manage to teenagers across the country.