CDC clears Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine boosters for children as young as five

Key Facts

U.S. Updated on: May 19, 2022 / 7:18 PM / CBS News A panel of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's outside vaccine advisers voted nearly unanimously on Thursday to recommend a third dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as five years old, as early as five months after the second shot.
Less than a third of children ages five to 11 years old are fully vaccinated with two shots of Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine and will become eligible for the booster.
"It wouldn't make sense that five to 11 year olds are the only group among the age eligible for whom a third dose isn't necessary to achieve a more durable and effective immune response," Dr. Matthew Daley, head of the committee's work group on COVID-19 vaccines, said ahead of the vote.
"Data do not suggest potential safety concerns regarding a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster for children five to 11 years of age, beyond those previously identified in older age groups," Dr. Keipp Talbot, head of the panel's vaccine safety work group, said.