WASHINGTON – The FDA on Wednesday cleared updated COVID-19 boosters for children 5 years of age and younger, looking to expand protection ahead of the expected winter period.
Modified boosters for Americans 12 years of age and older were released last month, doses modified to target the Omicron variant, the most common and contagious today. While there hasn’t been much of a rush, federal health officials are urging people to seek additional protection before holiday meetings.
Now, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green light to school-age children to also receive updated booster doses, one manufactured by Pfizer for children ages 5 to 11, and a version of the rival Moderna for children up to 6 years.
Americans may be tired of repeated calls to beef up against COVID-19, but experts say the updated footage has an advantage: they contain half the prescription targeting the original coronavirus strain and half the protection against the BA.4 dominant Omicron subvariants. and BA.5.
Less than a third of children ages 5 to 11 received the two main doses and would therefore qualify for the new booster.
This age group will receive children’s doses of the updated booster and can receive it at least two months after the last dose, a primary vaccine, or a previous booster, the FDA said.
Pfizer said it could ship up to 6 million infant doses within a week of authorization, in addition to ongoing shipments of adult doses.
Until now, the updated Moderna booster was only licensed for adults. The FDA action Wednesday cleared the recall for teens and children 6 years of age and older.
As for the little ones, the first shots for the under-5 group were only opened in mid-June, and it will still take several months for the regulators to decide if they too will need a recall with the updated prescription.
