For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.
What is happening
A CDC panel has unanimously approved FDA recommendations that Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines be given to children as young as 6 months.
Why it matters
To date, younger children have not been able to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
That follows
Babies, toddlers and preschoolers could receive their first dose starting the week of June 20th.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration has authorized COVID vaccines for children as young as 6 months.
Agencies approved Moderna’s emergency use authorization, a two-part vaccine for children 6 months to 5 years old, and the three-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children 6 months to 4 years old. .
The CDC encourages parents to vaccinate all eligible children, including those who have already had COVID-19.
“Together, with science at the helm, we have taken another important step in our nation’s fight against COVID-19,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a June 18 statement. . “We know that millions of parents and caregivers are eager to vaccinate their young children and, with today’s decision, they can do so.”
Here’s what you need to know about COVID-19 vaccines for children, including the ages for which they are approved, the possible side effects, and the differences between the two approved vaccines.
How old must children be to get vaccinated against COVID?
With the CDC supporting FDA recommendations, two COVID vaccines are now being approved in the U.S. for children as young as 6 months old: Moderna’s two-dose regimen is for children 6 months to 5 years old, while that the Pfizer vaccine is a three-injection process. intended for children from 6 months to 4 years.
When can younger children start getting vaccinated?
Anticipating approvals, the Biden Administration allowed states to request vaccines and has said vaccinations could begin as early as the week of June 20th. The initial batch of 5 million doses was evenly divided between Pfizer and Moderna.
Availability will likely vary from state to state, and even from pharmacy to pharmacy. It also depends on what vaccine parents want for their children, as pediatricians, pharmacies, and health centers may not have the same supply of both.
In addition, most states do not allow pharmacists to vaccinate children under 3 years of age, meaning parents of infants and young children will need to book an appointment with their pediatrician.
A CVS spokesman told NBC News that it would administer vaccines to children 18 months to 4 years old at their MinuteClinic locations. (You can find the location of CVS MinuteClinic near you here.)
Florida families may face additional delays, as Gov. Ron DeSantis initially declined to previously request any COVID-19 vaccine for young children. The state finally allowed doctors and hospitals to place orders on Friday, according to the White House, though that means they will receive them later than any other state.
Are vaccines safe for young children?
The results presented to the FDA and the CDC are still preliminary, both agencies say they are safe and effective.
“There are many processes in place to ensure safety, including oversight by vaccine advisory groups, the FDA, and vaccine manufacturers,” Dr. Leslie Sude, a pediatrician at Yale School of Medicine, said in a statement. “We are lucky to live in a country that has these controls.
Sude added that children receive lower doses of vaccines than adults, but “mount robust antibody responses with no safety issues.”
What are the side effects?
Side effects reported in young children receiving a COVID-19 vaccine include fever, fatigue, and pain at the injection site.
Freemixer / Getty Images
The two vaccines for younger children produced common and mild side effects such as irritability, drowsiness, fever, fatigue and injection site pain, similar to the effects reported in a December 2021 CDC report on more than 8 million children. dose of Pfizer vaccine given to children. 5 to 11.
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a June 17 statement that parents of younger children “can have confidence in the safety and effectiveness of these vaccines against COVID-19 and be confident that the ‘agency was thorough in its evaluation of the data “.
Inflammation of the heart muscle, known as myocarditis, is a rare and typically mild side effect related to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, mainly in adolescent men and young men between 12 and 29 years of age. (Myocarditis can also occur after COVID-19 infection.)
In one study, the CDC said only 54 recipients of 1 million men between the ages of 12 and 17 had myocarditis after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Neither trial with younger children reported any cases of myocarditis, but the FDA said there is not enough data to properly determine risk.
What is the difference between Moderna and Pfizer vaccines?
Although the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have been approved for children, there are differences between the two.
Modern / Pfizer
There are several key differences between the two vaccines, such as how they are administered, potential side effects, and proven efficacy.
Age and dose The two-dose regimen of Moderna is for children from 6 months to 5 years. Each dose is 25 micrograms, a quarter of the dose given to adults, with the second injection four weeks after the first.
The Pfizer vaccine is a three-injection process for children aged 6 months to 4 years. Each dose is only 3 micrograms, one-tenth of the adult version. The first two injections are given three weeks apart, and the third is given at least two months after the second.
Side effects Between 21% and 26% of children aged 6 months to 5 years developed a fever after each dose of the Modern vaccine, more than in adolescents and adults. Fever was less common in the Pfizer trial, reported in only 7% of children 6 to 23 months after each injection.
In the Modern trial, 62% of children aged 3 to 5 years experienced fatigue, compared with just under 45% of children aged 2 to 4 years in the Pfizer trial.
EffectivenessTwo doses of the Modern vaccine are 51% effective in preventing infection in children 6 months to 2 years old, the company reported, and 37% in children 2 to 5 years old. The ability of the vaccine to prevent serious illness or hospitalization is expected to be higher.
Pfizer reported that its three-dose vaccine was 80% to prevent infection, but its research was based on a very small group of subjects. More data will be available as your vaccine spreads widely.
Do children even need to be vaccinated for COVID?
Children are less likely to get serious illnesses than adults, but some have become very ill. The omicron wave was especially hard on children, and led to an increase in youth hospitalizations. Between December 2021 and February 2022, nearly 90 percent of hospitalized children ages 5 to 11 were not vaccinated, according to the CDC.
Of these children, 30% had no underlying disease that would have made them more susceptible to more serious complications.
A CDC report from April 2022 found that 75% of children 11 years of age or younger showed evidence of a previous coronavirus infection, and about a third became HIV-positive recently since December 2021. But having antibodies to the virus “should not be construed as protection against future infections.” “the agency said in a statement.
“Vaccination remains the safest strategy to prevent complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including hospitalization among children and adults.”
Children 5 to 11 years of age who have COVID-19 also have a higher risk of multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, a rare but potentially serious complication that can involve inflammation of the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes and other organs. .
More than 2 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported in children 4 years of age or younger in the United States, according to the CDC, with 442 deaths.
And even a mild case of COVID-19 can alter a child’s ability to socialize or attend school, and children can transmit the infection to more vulnerable family members or community members. As of February 2022, about 75% of children and adolescents have had COVID-19, according to the CDC.
When can my child receive reinforcement?
Currently, most children 5 years of age and older are eligible for a single booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at least five months after their second primary dose. Immunocompromised children are eligible for their first booster at least three months after their last vaccination.
In March, the FDA authorized a second booster for 12-year-olds and …