FDA authorizes first COVID booster for children ages 5 to 11

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/05/17/ [login to see] /fda-authorizes-first-covid-booster-for-children-ages-5-to-11
The Food and Drug Administration Tuesday authorized the first COVID-19 vaccine booster for children ages 5 to 11.

The authorization makes all children in that age group who received their second shot at least five months ago eligible to receive a third shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The companies requested the authorization based on a small study that the companies and FDA said demonstrated a third shot is safe and can significantly boost antibody levels, countering waning immunity and providing added protection against the virus, including the more contagious omicron variant.

Until now, only children ages 12 and older and adults were eligible for a booster.

"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," said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf in a statement.