CDC Advisers Advocate Pfizer Booster Shot for Children Ages 5 to 11

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THURSDAY, Might 19, 2022 (HealthDay Information)

A panel of science advisers to the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Stop beneficial on Thursday {that a} single booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine could be given to 5- to 11-year-olds.

The transfer is anticipated be confirmed by a sign-off from CDC director Dr. Rochelle Wallensky, and follows on authorization from U.S. Meals and Drug Administration on Tuesday..

The third shot could be given not less than 5 months after wholesome children full the two-dose vaccine sequence, the CDC advisers mentioned. Approval of the booster pictures on this age group dovetails with an increase in infections in lots of areas of the nation, and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices believes children will achieve an added layer of safety in opposition to SARS-CoV-2.

In response to the New York Instances, there was debate amongst members of the committee as as to if the advice ought to be that kids ages 5-11 “ought to” obtain the vaccine, or whether or not the wording ought to learn that they “might” obtain it, if their mother and father or well being care supplier believes the booster to be vital.

Ultimately, the specialists went with the stronger “ought to,” given sturdy proof of the booster’s effectiveness no matter age.

“Whereas it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be much less extreme in kids than adults, the Omicron wave has seen extra children getting sick with the illness and being hospitalized, and youngsters might also expertise longer-term results, even following initially delicate illness,” FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf famous on Tuesday. “The FDA is authorizing the usage of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for youngsters 5 via 11 years of age to supply continued safety in opposition to COVID-19.”

Califf famous that vaccination is the simplest solution to stop COVID-19 and its penalties. And, he emphasised, it’s protected.

FDA officers based mostly their determination on an evaluation of knowledge from a bunch of youngsters in an ongoing trial that led to final fall’s authorization of the Pfizer vaccine main sequence in 5- to 11-year-olds.

Antibody responses had been evaluated in 67 examine individuals who obtained a booster dose seven to 9 months after finishing the two-dose vaccine routine. A month after the booster, their antibody ranges had been larger than earlier than, in line with the FDA.

The security of a single Pfizer booster dose was assessed in about 400 kids, aged 5 to 11, who obtained it 5 to 9 months after the two-dose sequence.

Essentially the most generally reported negative effects had been pain, redness and swelling on the injection web site, in addition to fatigue, headache, muscle or joint pain, and chills and fever.

Dr. Diego Hijano, an infectious illness specialist at St. Jude Youngsters’s Analysis Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., welcomed the authorization.

“With an uptick in infections and the potential for a surge within the fall, a booster shot for youngsters ages 5 to 11 is a vital layer of safety,” Hijano mentioned. “Vaccines save lives. Dad and mom of eligible kids, 5 months out from their final COVID vaccine shot, ought to make appointments for his or her kid’s booster in order that they have full safety for the summer season from extreme sickness and hospitalization.”

In the meantime, Califf urged mother and father whose eligible kids haven’t but been vaccinated to get the pictures.

“Getting them vaccinated can assist shield them from the possibly extreme penalties that may happen, similar to hospitalization and dying,” he mentioned in an FDA information launch.

The CDC famous that greater than 350 children between the ages of 5 and 11 have died because of COVID-19, in line with Related Press.

Thursday’s motion follows the FDA and CDC authorization in January of a single booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds.

Extra info

There’s extra on COVID-19 vaccines on the American Academy of Pediatrics.

SOURCES: U.S. Meals and Drug Administration, information launch, Might 17, 2022; Related Press

By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter