Children as young as 5 years old can now receive an updated COVID-19 booster following a decision by the Food and Drug Administration to expand its authorization of reformulated shots from Moderna and partners Pfizer and BioNTech. [Healthcare Dive] 

Moderna’s vaccine, which was previously cleared in adults 18 years and older, is authorized for use in children at least 6 years of age. Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine can now be used in children 5 years old and up, after previously being available for those 12 years or older. 

The FDA’s authorizations come a little less than three weeks after the companies submitted applications to expand use of their updated shots, which are adapted to better protect against the omicron variants that are currently most prevalent in the U.S. 

“Since children have gone back to school in person and people are resuming pre-pandemic behaviors and activities, there is the potential for increased risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19,” Peter Marks, the head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement on the authorizations.

Full article here>

###