A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel recommended booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11, the New York Times reports, days after the FDA expanded authorization for the age group.
Driving the news: As soon as CDC Director Rochelle Walensky signs off on the recommendation, children will be able to receive the boosters immediately.
State of play: Children aged 5-11 can get their first booster shot five months "at least five months after completion of a primary series with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine," the FDA said earlier in the week.
- The booster shot is 10 micrograms, which is the same dosage this age group received in their primary series and a third of that given to people aged 12 and older.
- "While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the omicron wave has seen more kids getting sick with the disease and being hospitalized, and children may also experience longer term effects, even following initially mild disease," FDA commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement.
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Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout....