FDA authorizes updated Covid-19 booster shots for children as young as 5

Federal health officials have signed off on updated Covid-19 booster shots for children as young as 5. Now, children and teens can get the boosters from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech as long as they’re at least two months past their primary vaccine series or last booster dose.   Like the boosters that became available for people 12 and older in September, these bivalent boosters target the original coronavirus strain as well as the Omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariants.   The updated Pfizer/BioNTech booster received authorization last week for use in children ages 5 to 11 and will be given as a 10-microgram dose. Pfizer’s updated booster was previously authorized for people 12 and older.   Moderna’s updated boosters were also authorized last week for people ages 6 to 17. Moderna’s updated booster was previously authorized for people 18 and older.   “Since children have gone back to school in person and people are resuming pre-pandemic behaviors and activities, there is the potential for increased risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19. Vaccination remains the most effective measure to prevent the severe consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a news release.   “While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, as the various waves of COVID-19 have occurred, more children have gotten sick with the disease and have been hospitalized. Children may also experience long-term effects, even following initially mild disease,” Marks said.