The US FDA authorizes updated COVID-19 boosters for children in a new amendment.
Until now, vaccines remain the best defense against the most severe effects of illness brought on by the contagious COVID-19 omicron variety, even preventing hospitalization and death.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's press release, the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of the updated (bivalent) Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines will now include children down to 6 months of age.
Based on current evidence, the revised, bivalent vaccines are anticipated to offer greater protection against COVID-19.
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FDA Authorizes Bivalent Booster for Children
As the pandemic stretches and COVID continues to change, immunity from previous vaccinations has also started to take effect. Thus, an updated booster against COVID-19 was rolled out so that individuals will be able to continue their daily lives, with vaccines being the first line of defense. Additionally, the updated booster shot now includes more groups of the population.
ABC News reports that booster shots for children in the United States were only approved in June this year, currently making them the last group to become eligible for vaccination finally.
"More children now have the opportunity to update their protection against COVID-19 with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, and we encourage parents and caregivers of those eligible to consider doing so -- especially as we head into the holidays and winter months where more time will be spent indoors," FDA Commissioner Robert Califf stated.
The FDA stated that it considered immune response data from adults who had received the original booster, which focused on the original omicron variant BA.1, and data from a study comparing children who received the original booster and children who only received the primary series. The original booster targeted the original omicron variant BA.1.
Following the authorization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 267 million Americans are now qualified for the booster.
How To Know if Your Children Eligible for Bivalent COVID-19 Booster
While the booster is now available to a majority of the population, parents and caretakers should note that children are eligible to receive the booster at least two months from the completion of their primary series or after receiving a separate booster dose.
Additionally, children under six who have already had two doses of the original Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna are eligible for one booster of the company's modernized formulation if it has been at least two months since their last shot.
Alternatively, for children under the age of 5, Pfizer's vaccine requires three initial doses; those who haven't finished the series will receive the original formula for the first two shots and the omicron-targeted version for the third.
Finally, the last requirement before the booster may be given to the under-five age group would be the CDC's approval, which must be approved by the organization's director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
