COVID-19 vaccine for children: CDC recommends including vaccination in routine immunization schedule
A CDC panel should add COVID-19 vaccinations to the list of recommended vaccinations for children and adults. The panel’s decision is not binding. State and local authorities are allowed to make their own decisions about vaccination requirements for school attendance. Flu and HPV vaccinations, for example, are not required in many schools.
On Thursday, U.S. regulators approved updated vaccines against COVID-19 – vaccinations that are designed to more specifically combat newer strains of the virus.
The Food and Drug Administration’s clearance means Moderna and Pfizer can soon begin delivering millions of doses. A third U.S. manufacturer, Novavax, expects its modified version of the vaccine to be available a little later.
The FDA has approved Pfizer and Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccines Comirnaty and Spikevax, which target the Omicron KP.2 variant, for people ages 12 and older. Emergency use authorization for the vaccine was also granted for people ages 6 months to 11 years.
“We know that this virus is constantly changing and that your protection from previous infection or from previous vaccinations wanes over time,” James Mansi, vice president of medical affairs at Moderna, said in a statement. “Ensuring you get the updated vaccine, which better matches the vaccine circulating in the U.S., will help protect you during the winter months when case numbers typically rise.”
The agency’s decision came slightly earlier than the rollout of updated COVID-19 vaccines last year.
When will a new COVID-19 vaccine be available?
The pharmaceutical companies said that the COVID-19 vaccines could be available within a few days.
FILE – A healthcare worker prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at Louisa Jordan Hospital as the rollout begins in Glasgow, Scotland, December 8, 2020. (Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell – Pool /Getty Images)
Who should receive a booster vaccination against COVID-19?
Given the nationwide summer surge of the virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has already recommended vaccination this fall for everyone ages 6 months and older.
While most Americans have some level of immunity from previous infection or vaccination or both, that protection is waning. CDC data shows that only about 22.5 percent of adults and 14 percent of children received the vaccine last fall.
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Forgoing the new vaccine is “a risky proposition” because even if your last infection was mild, the next one could be worse or lead to long-term COVID symptoms, said Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr. of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
When should I get a COVID-19 booster?
People who are at high risk from the virus should not wait but schedule vaccinations as soon as vaccines are available in their area, Hopkins advises.
These include older adults, people with weakened immune systems or other serious medical conditions, nursing home residents and pregnant women.
Healthy young adults and children “can get vaccinated at any time. I don’t think there’s any real reason to wait,” Hopkins said – although it’s OK to get vaccinated in the fall when enough doses have arrived at pharmacies and doctor’s offices.
The exception: According to the CDC, anyone who has recently had COVID-19 can wait three months after recovery to be vaccinated until their immunity to the infection wanes.
Hopkins, who treats patients at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, says it’s critical that more young people get vaccinated this year – especially as schools begin vaccinating while coronavirus numbers are high across the country.
“COVID is not killing many children, thank God, but it is killing far more children than the flu,” Hopkins said, adding that teachers should also quickly check their vaccination status.
Health officials say it’s OK to get a COVID-19 and flu shot at the same time. This is convenient because it means people don’t have to go twice. But while many drugstores are already promoting flu shots, the best time to get the shot is usually between late September and October, just before the flu typically begins its cold snap.
