Indication Expands for COVID-19 Vaccine and Boosters for Young Children

CDC Expands Eligibility and Strengthens Booster Recommendations

Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement that described updated recommendations for use of booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The organization now recommends that all individuals 5 years of age and older receive a booster dose 5 months after their initial two-part vaccine series.

Additionally, the CDC strengthened its recommendations that individuals 12 and older who are immunocompromised and all adults older than 50 should receive a second booster dose at least 4 months after their first.

Pfizer-Biotech Sees Progress in Vaccines for Young Children

Pfizer-BioNTech recently made progress toward getting respective vaccines approved under Emergency Use Authorization for children 5 years old and younger. 

According to Pfizer-BioNTech, their three-micro dose vaccine series for young children has generated a strong immune response and has been well-tolerated in a clinical trial comprising more than 1,600 children. The test dose showed children had a similar immune response as individuals in the vaccinated 16- to 25-year-old age group, with a vaccine effectiveness of more than 80%, though additional symptomatic COVID-19 cases in vaccinated children still need to be analyzed to better calculate efficacy.