CDC Recommends Omicron-Specific Covid Boosters For Kids 5 And Up

Breaking Business CDC Recommends Omicron-Specific Covid Boosters For Kids 5 And Up Madeline Halpert Forbes Staff Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Oct 12, 2022, 01:15pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday recommended retooled Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for kids as young as five to protect against the contagious omicron strain, as booster rates among Americans continue to lag and new omicron subvariants emerge. Charles Muro receives a Covid-19 vaccine.

AFP via Getty Images Key Facts CDC Director Rochelle Walenksy wrote in a tweet she had endorsed the shots for those five and up as a “critical step in our fight against COVID-19” to help “bolster protection for our children this winter. ” The move came after the FDA earlier on Thursday authorized Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid vaccine for those five to 11 years old, while Moderna’s shot was authorized for those ages 6 and up, two months after patients’ last booster or primary series vaccination. With children going back to school and people resuming pre-pandemic behaviors, “there is a potential for increased risk of exposure to the virus,” Dr.

Peter Marks, the top vaccine official at the Food and Drug Administration, said in a statement. Marks added that even though cases appear to be less severe in children than adults, vaccination “remains the most effective measure to prevent the severe consequences” of the coronavirus, including hospitalization and death. The recommendation comes two months after the FDA authorized Moderna and Pfizer’s new bivalent booster—which protects against both the original Covid strain and omicron subvariants BA.

4 and BA. 5—for Americans 12 years and older two months after their last booster or primary series vaccination. Surprising Fact As of October 6, only about 11.

5 million people had opted for the new booster, representing about 5% of the total population eligible for the new shot, according to data from the CDC. About half of those who received a primary series vaccination have had one booster shot, according to the CDC data. Big Number 171 million.

That’s how many doses of Pfizer and Moderna’s bivalent Covid vaccine the federal government has purchased . What To Watch For A pair of new omicron subvariants have been on the rise in recent weeks: Omicron substrains BA. 4.

6 and BF. 7 comprised about 18% of all Covid infections for the week ending October 8, while the BA. 5 subvariant, which has remained dominant for several months, represented a declining 79% of cases, according to CDC data .

The new bivalent booster increases protection against both of these emerging variants, Cyrus Shahpar, the White House COVID-19 data director, said in a tweet last week. Key Background Fearing a winter surge of Covid after a deadly wave of omicron infections last winter, the FDA advised pharmaceutical manufacturers in June to update coronavirus boosters to target the closely related omicron subvariants BA. 4 and BA.

5. The two strains arrived in the U. S.

around late March and quickly became the dominant Covid variants, causing an uptick in cases and hospitalizations this summer. The FDA has suggested the U. S.

may soon approach coronavirus vaccines like annual flu shots, which are updated each year to tackle the most prevalent strains, but data and polling suggests some Americans aren’t inclined to keep getting shots: Only about a third of adults said they had already gotten the new booster or planned to, while half of the public said they had heard little or nothing at all about the new shots, according to a September poll from the Kaiser Family Health Foundation. Further Reading The US’s estimate for uptake of the new covid booster was off by more than 90% (Quartz) Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus Check out my website . Send me a secure tip .

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