5 FDA approval decisions to watch in the fourth quarter

The Food and Drug Administration has already made several weighty regulatory decisions this year, but crucial drug reviews still lie ahead.

Top among them are decisions on whether to clear COVID-19 shots for children and boosters for others, each of which represent challenging and controversial calls for an agency that will soon lose two of its top vaccine reviewers. And Merck & Co. just gave the FDA another must-do item, as it's likely to soon file an application for what could be the first pill for COVID-19.