The FDA just announced that there is an updated coronavirus booster shots now available to include children as young as 5. This new booster bolsters protection against the now-dominant version of the virus.
Up till now, the new booster shot developed by Pfizer-BioNTech previously had been cleared for those 12 and older, while Moderna’s updated booster was available only to those 18 and older.
In the announcement Wednesday, the FDA made it clear it will expand access to Pfizer’s shot to children as young as 5 and to Moderna’s shot to children 6 and older.
“Since children have gone back to school in person and people are resuming prepandemic behaviors and activities, there is the potential for increased risk of exposure to the virus,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the agency’s top vaccine regulator. While Covid-19 is typically less severe in children than adults, he said, “more children have gotten sick with the disease and have been hospitalized” as the pandemic has progressed.