Washington, October 12 The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the booster dose of the omicron variant for children up to 5 years of age on Wednesday.
In a statement, the US regulator explained that it has given the green light to this dose of the Moderna vaccine for children under the age of six, who will be able to receive it two months after the administration of the initial schedule (two doses) or the first reinforcement. .
Likewise, the FDA has cleared the fourth dose of Pfizer for children up to 5 years of age, who will likewise be able to access this booster two months after receiving the first or two initial doses.
The FDA explained in detail that these reinforcements include a messenger RNA component that provides an immune response, which protects against covid-19 in general and omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 in particular.
FDA chief Peter Marks said in the note that there is a greater risk of exposure to the virus from returning face-to-face to school and returning the general population to their usual activities.
“Vaccination remains the most effective measure to prevent the serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” said Marks, director of the Center for Biological Evaluation and Research at the FDA.
The health official pointed out that, just as covid-19 is usually a less serious disease in minors than in adults, more and more children have been infected and ended up in hospital with subsequent waves of the epidemic, so he encouraged parents. to vaccinate their children.
After FDA approval, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must issue a recommendation before minors can receive this recall.
A CDC science committee is expected to meet next week to review data on those doses in minors.
