Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and BioNTech SE have asked US regulators to authorize emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, a group for whom no shot is currently allowed, Pfizer said on Thursday.

The US Food and Drug Administration has set a date of Oct. 26 for its panel of outside advisers to meet and discuss the application, making it possible for children in this age group - numbering around 28 million - to begin receiving the two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine shortly afterward.

The vaccine already has won US emergency use authorization in teens ages 12 to 15 and is fully approved by regulators for people ages 16 and up.