Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations for Children and Test Results for Omicron Subvariant Boosters

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FHEA Faculty

1 minute

In a recent press release, the CDC expanded the use of updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 5 through 11 years.

Additionally, Pfizer and BioNTech have adapted their COVID-19 vaccine booster for the BA.4 and the BA.5 subvariants of Omicron, which generated a strong immune response and was well-tolerated in testing on humans.

In tests administered to 80 adult patients, Pfizer and BioNTech representatives reported a substantial increase in neutralizing antibody levels against the BA.4/BA.5 variants after one week.

“While we expect more mature immune response data from the clinical trial of our Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent vaccine in the coming weeks, we are pleased to see encouraging responses just one week after vaccination in younger and older adults,” said Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla.

Based on this data, the CDC recommends bivalent COVID vaccine for children 5-11 years.

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Editor’s note: this post was originally published on October 28, 2022 and updated on April 22, 2024.

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