COVID Booster For Kids Gets FDA OK In MA: What To Know

MASSACHUSETTS — Children ages 5 to 11 in Massachusetts could soon get COVID-19 booster shots as a descendant of the omicron variant causes an uptick in cases around the country.

The FDA amended the emergency authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Tuesday, authorizing the booster dose for kids between 5-11. It’s the first step in a process that could make the shots available to YOUR STATE’S kids later this week.

Under the authorization, the booster can be given at least five months after the kids completed the initial vaccine series.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of outside experts, is expected to sanction the boosters Thursday, and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to give her approval soon after.

At the same time, the federal government is giving away a third round of free COVID-19 tests. The program now offers eight tests to be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.

Health experts say the new subvariant, known as BA.2.12.1, is particularly worrisome because it is more transmissible than other highly contagious omicron subvariants, and because it’s able to evade antibodies built up from vaccines or previous infections.

The FDA's announcement comes a day after Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis teamed up to push the Biden administration to review Moderna's emergency-use authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5 years old.

"Waiting to combine applications from Moderna and Pfizer in an effort to 'prevent confusion' with staggered approvals would be ill advised and ultimately prevent our nation's progress in fighting this virus," Baker and Polis wrote in a letter released by the Baker administration.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases have been rising in Massachusetts since March, with 57,217 cases reported during the two weeks ended May 16. Nearly 5.5 million people, or 79.5 percent of the state's population, are fully-vaccinated, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Pfizer-BioNTech said last month that a clinical trial involving 140 children showed the booster shot improves children’s immunity both against the original strain of the coronavirus and the omicron variant.

The effectiveness of vaccines wanes over time, and children between 5 and 11 would become the youngest Americans eligible to get the extra level of protection with the approval of the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration.

That leaves children under 5 as the only Americans for whom vaccines are not available. Both Pfizer and Moderna have clinical trials underway to determine the best vaccine regimen for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.

Pfizer paused its application for approval of the vaccine for children under 5 after the FDA asked for more data. Moderna has asked regulators to approve vaccines for young children.

In March, regulators approved a second COVID-19 booster shot for people 50 and older.