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Topline
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory board voted Thursday to recommend letting children ages 5 to 11 receive a third dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine shots, two days after the Food and Drug Administration approved boosters for the age group.
A podium with the logo for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Key Facts
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 11 to 1 to recommend signing off boosters, with one member abstaining, according to Bloomberg.
The committee’s recommendation is nonbinding, and will be finalized if it gets CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky’s sign off.
If the recommendation is approved, children between 5 and 11 will be able to receive a Pfizer booster shot five months after receiving the primary two-dose round.
Walensky gave the greenlight for children ages 5 to 11 to receive an initial round of Pfizer vaccine shots in November, leaving a six-month gap for the first wave of children to receive a vaccine.
A third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine improved protection against the coronavirus in younger children, according to research cited by the pharmaceutical company.
Children between 12 and 15 were permitted to receive a booster in January.
Big Number
8.1 million. That’s the number of children ages 5-11 who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Some 9.9 million children in the same age group have received an initial dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
What To Watch For
The FDA’s advisory committee will review Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines in June to consider whether they should be authorized for kids under age 5. The 5-11-year-old age group is the youngest population approved to receive a Covid-19 vaccination.
Further Reading
CDC board votes in favor of recommending COVID-19 vaccine boosters for kids 5-11 (The Hill)
FDA Authorizes Pfizer Booster For Children Ages 5 To 11 — But CDC Must Still Approve (Forbes)
