Kids ages 5-11 who’ve completed their primary series of COVID vaccines are now eligible for a booster shot. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) each met this week to authorize a third shot of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine. Experts say the shots are intended to protect kids from waning immunity. Here’s what we know about the new recommendations so far.
Who can get a COVID booster?
Pfizer’s emergency use authorization has been expanded to include a single COVID booster dose for kids ages 5-11. In order to be eligible for a third shot, kids in this age range must have completed their two-shot primary vaccine series at least five months ago. The decision also makes immunocompromised children who’ve already received a third dose eligible for a fourth shot, USA Today reports.
Kids ages 12-15 were cleared to get a single booster dose in January. With the new authorization, all kids ages 5-15 are now eligible for three COVID shots. Vaccines for kids under 5 are still awaiting approval.
Why do kids need a booster shot?
Booster shots are being recommended to protect kids against waning COVID immunity, which may be especially important as cases rise and new variants emerge.
Though much of the country has unmasked and done away with pandemic restrictions, case numbers are rising once again. Daily reports of new COVID cases have increased threefold since the start of April, and the U.S. is currently averaging more than 103,000 new cases per day.
COVID is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, as well as acute kidney disease. Children are also at risk for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C), a post-COVID infection that causes dangerous inflammation, as well as long COVID.
“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,” Dr. Robert M. Califf, the FDA commissioner, says in a press release.
Are booster shots available now?
The CDC’s scientific advisory committee met Thursday, May 19, to vote to approve the booster doses. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to sign off on the recommendation in the following days, meaning kids could begin getting their third shots as soon as this weekend or early next week.
So far, only about 28% of kids ages 5-11 have completed their primary vaccine series. Kids must have completed their initial series in December in order to be eligible for a booster shot.
Does the COVID booster have side effects?
The booster shot is a third dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine that many kids have already gotten. That means potential side effects are the same. The most commonly reported side effects of the vaccine include:
- Itching, pain or redness at the injection site
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle or joint pain
- Chills
- Fever
More than 8.7 million kids ages 5-11 have been vaccinated, and the CDC reports that while local reactions, such as those listed above, are common, serious adverse events are rare.
“Vaccination continues to be the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 and its severe consequences, and it is safe,” Dr. Califf adds in the FDA press release.
