Following the meeting held this Thursday by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The CDC has expanded eligibility for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster doses to everyone ages 5 and older.
So the CDC now recommends that children ages 5 to 11 get a booster shot 5 months after their initial two-dose vaccination series of the Pfizer vaccine.
Since the pandemic began, more than 4.8 million children ages 5 to 11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19, 15,000 have been hospitalized, and, theoretically, more than 180 have died.
The action comes amid a record increase in COVID-19 cases across the country, so a booster dose will safely help restore and improve protection against severe disease, the agency said.
Additionally, the CDC strengthened its recommendation that those 12 and older who are immunocompromised, as well as those 50 and older, should receive a second booster dose at least 4 months after the first.