COVID-19 cases continue to fall across the United States as more of the population becomes vaccinated. Nearly half of U.S. residents have received at least one vaccine dose, and the number testing positive each day has fallen below 40,000 for the first time since September.

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted emergency use authorization to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 12. This is acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock.

Dr. Janet Woodcock: “We know this is a big step for our country. Vaccinating a younger population brings us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic.”