US CDC supports COVID boosters for children ages 5-11

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has resolved on Thursday to assist children aged 5 to 11 years after the advisory board has resolved to support them at least five months after completing the primary vaccination course. Vaccine booster recommended.

In a statement, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said, “We have” approved “a vote by the Immunization Implementation Advisory Board to expand the eligibility of the COVID-19 vaccine booster dose. Children between the ages of 5 and 11 should be boosted at least 5 months after the primary series. “

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“Because they have been given more than 18 million times in this age group, these vaccines have been found to be safe and we need to continue to increase the number of children protected,” Walensky added.

The advisor reviewed data from the CDC showing that protection from the first two shots began to decline over time, and boosters in the elderly group improved their effectiveness against severe COVID and hospitalization.

As the number of cases of COVID is increasing again in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration approved a booster dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine on Tuesday.

The US government has sought support from qualified Americans, but less than half of fully vaccinated people rolled up their sleeves for additional shots.

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Pfizer said at a meeting that a third dose of the vaccine produced a strong immune response against the Omicron variant in healthy children aged 5 to 11 years.

The CDC also presented safety data showing that the incidence of heart inflammation after vaccination is significantly lower than in adolescents and young adults.

Over 29% of US children aged 5 to 11 years are considered to be fully vaccinated with two Pfizer / BioNTech vaccinations. The vaccine has not yet been approved for children under the age of five.

The Vaccine Commission voted 11 to 1, recommending additional injections, and one doctor abstinent.

Professor Helen Cape Talbot of Vanderbilt University argued that he was the only member of the committee who voted against booster recommendations and should focus on increasing immunization rates for the age group.

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“If we all get the first round, the boosters are great,” she said.

Companies are already looking at the need for a COVID-19 vaccine that has been redesigned for the fall to target mutant strains of new concern.

Dr. Amanda Corn, a CDC scientist, said the redesigned vaccine may not be immediately available to children because pediatric injections have different prescriptions than those given to adults.

(Report by Manas Mishra of Bangalore and Michael Erman of New Jersey, additional report by Juby Babu and Ann Maria Shibu of Bangalore, edited by Bill Berkrot and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)