2LT International News

WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for children as young as six months old to protect against both the original variant of coronavirus and Omicron sub-variants.

The amended authorization allows the use of Moderna’s shot as a booster in children aged from six months to five years of age, to be given two months after their initial vaccination.

Pfizer-BioNTech’s updated vaccine can also be given as a third dose to those aged six months to four years who have not had their primary shots or their third dose.

However, the FDA said that children who have completed their initial three-dose vaccination with Pfizer’s original shot are not yet eligible to receive the booster, adding that data supporting use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s shot as a booster in this age group should be released in January.

In June, vaccine shots for youngest children in the US were approved, making them the last group to become eligible.

According to government data, as of 30th November only 2.7 percent of eligible children under the age of two, and less than 5 percent of children aged two to four, have completed their primary vaccination series.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed that 39.7 million people in US have received a booster as of 30th November.