FDA authorizes updated Covid-19 boosters for children under 5

• Covid boosters for kids under 5.
• The FDA authorized the vaccines for younger children.
• Get your updated booster in time for the holidays.

As cases rise, fficials are encouraging everyone who is eligible to get their updated Covid-19 boosters in time for the holidays. The FDA has just authorized updated Covid-19 boosters for children under five years of age.

On Thursday, December 8, 2022, the FDA approved updated doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for children under five years of age, according to The San Diego Tribune.

FDA authorizes updated Covid-19 booster for children under 5

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision is aimed at better protecting the youngest children amid a surge in Covid-19 cases across the country. This comes at a time when children’s hospitals are overwhelmed with kids suffering from other respiratory illnesses, including RSV and the flu.

«Vaccines remain the best defense against the most devastating consequences of disease caused by the currently circulating omicron variant,» Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA’s chief of vaccines, said in a statement.

Updated Covid vaccines for kids over 6 months of age

Targeted booster shots for the Omicron variant produced by Moderna and Pfizer were already available to everyone five years and older. Now, the FDA has authorized the use of the updated vaccines starting at six months of age. Who is eligible depends on how many vaccines you have already received and what type.

Only around 5% of children under five years of age have received the complete primary series since vaccinations for the youngest began in June. The FDA stated that children under six years of age who have already received two doses of Moderna’s original Covid-19 vaccine may receive a one-time booster of Moderna’s updated formulation if it has been at least two months since their last vaccination.

Pfizer’s vaccine requires three initial doses for children under 5

In addition, they pointed out that the Pfizer vaccine requires three initial doses for children under five years of age, and those who have not completed the vaccination series will receive the original formula in the first two doses and the updated version in the third.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to approve the vaccine for kids under five soon. This is the final step before it will be available.

“Now more children have the opportunity to update their protection against Covid-19”

“Now more children have the opportunity to update their protection against Covid-19 with a bivalent vaccine, and we encourage parents and caregivers of those eligible to consider doing so, especially as we approach the holidays and the winter months, where more time is spent indoors,» FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement, according to CNN.