The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded eligibility of the single dose Pfizer booster to included children aged five to 11. .The third dose boosters will be available to children at least five months after completion of the primary series of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. .“While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the omicron wave has seen more kids getting sick with the disease and being hospitalized, and children may also experience longer term effects, even following initially mild disease,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D..“The FDA is authorizing the use of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for children 5 through 11 years of age to provide continued protection against COVID-19. Vaccination continues to be the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 and its severe consequences, and it is safe."."If your child is eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and has not yet received their primary series, getting them vaccinated can help protect them from the potentially severe consequences that can occur, such as hospitalization and death.”.In early January, the FDA approved the Pfizer booster for children aged 12 through 15 years of age. .“The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is effective in helping to prevent the most severe consequences of COVID-19 in individuals 5 years of age and older,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research..Marks said emerging data suggests the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine wanes after the second dose for all vaccinated individuals and a booster dose can "help provide continued protection" for all age groups. .The FDA said the safety of the booster dose was assessed in approximately 400 children who received a booster dose at least five months and up to nine months after completion of their primary two-dose series. .The most common side effects reported included pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain and chills and fever. .The FDA admitted it did not hold a meeting of its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee before approving the booster doses for this new age group saying the committee was previously convened after extensive discussions regarding the use of booster doses and did not feel the request required further discussion..Health Canada has approved the two dose series of both the Pfizer vaccine for children five to 11 years old and the Moderna vaccine for children six to 11 years old. It has yet to approve a booster dose for those age groups.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded eligibility of the single dose Pfizer booster to included children aged five to 11. .The third dose boosters will be available to children at least five months after completion of the primary series of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. .“While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the omicron wave has seen more kids getting sick with the disease and being hospitalized, and children may also experience longer term effects, even following initially mild disease,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D..“The FDA is authorizing the use of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for children 5 through 11 years of age to provide continued protection against COVID-19. Vaccination continues to be the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 and its severe consequences, and it is safe."."If your child is eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and has not yet received their primary series, getting them vaccinated can help protect them from the potentially severe consequences that can occur, such as hospitalization and death.”.In early January, the FDA approved the Pfizer booster for children aged 12 through 15 years of age. .“The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is effective in helping to prevent the most severe consequences of COVID-19 in individuals 5 years of age and older,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research..Marks said emerging data suggests the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine wanes after the second dose for all vaccinated individuals and a booster dose can "help provide continued protection" for all age groups. .The FDA said the safety of the booster dose was assessed in approximately 400 children who received a booster dose at least five months and up to nine months after completion of their primary two-dose series. .The most common side effects reported included pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain and chills and fever. .The FDA admitted it did not hold a meeting of its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee before approving the booster doses for this new age group saying the committee was previously convened after extensive discussions regarding the use of booster doses and did not feel the request required further discussion..Health Canada has approved the two dose series of both the Pfizer vaccine for children five to 11 years old and the Moderna vaccine for children six to 11 years old. It has yet to approve a booster dose for those age groups.
