CDC recommends Pfizer COVID boosters for kids ages 5 to 11

Amid a steady rise in US COVID -19 cases led by a more transmissible subvariant, vaccine advisers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today recommended a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 though 11.ACIP goes with stronger optionEarlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine booster for emergency use in younger kids.

The move follows an early January recommendation for booster doses for kids in older age-groups.CDC experts today said 35.4% of children ages 5 though 11 have had at least one COVID vaccine dose.

Though researchers haven't had much time to track waning protection of vaccinated younger kids, they have shown waning over time after two doses in children ages 12 and older.Given uncertainties about the limited numbers of kids in the younger age-group in the booster-dose clinical group and the timing of vaccination regarding a possible fall and winter wave, members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) grappled with whether to say younger kids "may" or "should" get the third dose.Many members of the group said they thought the "may" recommendation would help with clearer messaging about the booster dose and align the booster recommendation with that for other age-groups, including older kids.

Some members, though, were swayed by the idea of boosters given closer to fall, while others said messages about kids' COVID-19 vaccination should be more targeted to ensure that kids receive their primary series.At today's meeting, the recommendation passed with 11 yes votes, 1 no vote, and 1 abstention.