FDA, CDC Sign Off on New COVID Boosters for Kids
Children as young as 5 can get an updated formula that targets the omicron variant.
- Added coconut oil to cheap coffee before keto made it cool.
The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday signed off on updated COVID-19 boosters for children as young as 5 years old. Moderna's is authorized for children as young as 6, as long as it's been at least two months since their last shot. Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine is for kids 5 and older, at least two months after their last vaccine dose or booster shot. Both companies' new boosters for children target the dominant omicron strain causing most COVID-19 cases right now.
Later on Wednesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the shots for children, the final step needed to make them available at pharmacies and clinics throughout the US. Updated boosters have been available to teens and adults since September.
An official who spoke with The New York Times said Moderna's will be available first at more than 34,000 sites, while Pfizer's child boosters won't be available until next week. To find a vaccine for your child near you, you can use the government's vaccine finder link.
"While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, as the various waves of COVID-19 have occurred, more children have gotten sick with the disease and have been hospitalized," Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research at the FDA, said in a news release. "Children may also experience long-term effects, even following initially mild disease."
Vaccine rates among children, let alone booster rates, have been low in the US compared with booster and vaccine rates in adults. According to an Oct. 5 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, 38% of children 5 to 11 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 9% of children 6 months through 4 years have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Children as young as 6 months can get a primary COVID-19 vaccine (the first two doses). The older COVID-19 boosters will be taken off the market now that updated formulas are authorized, but the original vaccines will remain available for children who haven't had any COVID-19 shots yet.