UPDATED: CDC recommends covid booster shot for children ages 5 to 11
Last edited Thu May 19, 2022, 07:27 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: Washington Post
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Thursday that children ages 5 to 11 get a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to boost their immunity as cases and hospitalizations tick upward in many pockets of the United States. CDC director Rochelle Walensky greenlit the recommendation Thursday evening, and she also encouraged parents of children in that age group who have not yet been vaccinated to get their first shot soon.
“Vaccination with a primary series among this age group has lagged behind other age groups leaving them vulnerable to serious illness,” Walensky said. “With over 18 million doses administered in this age group, we know that these vaccines are safe, and we must continue to increase the number of children who are protected.”
Walensky also announced that the CDC was strengthening its recommendation that people 50 and older should get a second booster dose — a fourth shot in most cases — to be considered up to date on their coronavirus vaccinations. Previously, the agency said that older adults may get a booster. Immunocompromised people 12 and older should also get a second booster, she added. “With cases increasing, it is important that all people have the protection they need,” Walensky added.
The CDC advisers voted 11-1, with one member abstaining from the vote, to recommend that 5-to-11-year-olds should get a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine at least five months after completing their initial two shot series. Children in that age group who are moderately to severely immunocompromised had already been authorized to receive a three-dose primary series; those especially vulnerable can now get a fourth booster dose.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/05/19/covid-booster-shot-5-11/
Update to the NYT article to include Wallensky's final approval.
Original headline, article and link -
Scientific advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday recommended a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the agency’s director, is expected to sign off quickly on the committee’s recommendation. Children in this age group would then be able to begin receiving booster doses immediately.
The booster shot would be the third dose available for most children, and the fourth dose for immunocompromised children. The experts said a booster would offer children an extra layer of protection at a time when infections and hospitalizations are once again rising nationally. “It is sobering that we have experienced over a million deaths in the U.S. as a consequence of Covid infection,” Dr. Grace Lee, a pediatrician at Stanford University and chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which sets recommendations for the use of vaccines, told other panel members.
In November, the committee recommended booster shots for adults, and in January for children 12 and older. Pfizer and BioNTech reported in April that in children aged 5 to 11, a third dose generated antibodies against both the Omicron variant and the original version of the coronavirus. In the trial, the children received 10 micrograms of vaccine — one-third of the dose given to adolescents and adults — in each shot.
As with the first two doses, the booster appeared safe, the companies reported. The most commonly reported side effects were pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, as well as aches, chills and fever. Based on these data, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the boosters for children aged 5 to 11 on Tuesday.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/health/pfizer-vaccine-booster-kids.html
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will be in line as soon as they're ready. Mrs. Serge and I didn't raise no idjits, and our daughter is careful to a fault when it comes to her children.
and his "buddy", my grandnephew who are eligible now (they had their 2-doses about 5 - 6 months ago when it first came available to them). My sis and niece are trying to time it with the school and end of year vs perhaps doing it right before school starts up again in the fall.
The other grands are still under 5 although as I understand, they are going to try to formally review and approve someone's - possibly Moderna's - vaccine for infants (6 months) to 4 years next month. So will be monitoring those reviews. 
There's about a month of school remaining here in New York. I don't know if my daughter will want to wait or not. It's her choice in the end, so she'll have to wrestle with that decision.
I'm glad I don't have to make it. 