US clears way for COVID-19 vaccination for children 6 months to 5 years old

Last Saturday the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cleared the way for children 6 months to 5 years old to start receiving Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.

CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that all children 6 months through 5 years of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This expands eligibility for vaccination to nearly 20 million additional children and means that all Americans ages 6 months and older are now eligible for vaccination.

Parents and caregivers can now get their children 6 months through 5 years of age vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines to better protect them from COVID-19. All children, including children who have already had COVID-19 have been encouraged to get vaccinated.

According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccines have undergone—and will continue to undergo—the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. The Centre is calling in parents and caregivers to help play an active role in monitoring the safety of these vaccines by signing their children up for v-safe – personalised and confidential health check-ins via text messages and web surveys where they can easily share with CDC how a child feels after getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Distribution of pediatric vaccinations for these younger children has started across the US, and will be made available at pediatric practices, pharmacies, Federally Qualified Health Centers, local health departments, clinics, and other locations. Children in this younger age group can be vaccinated with whichever vaccine is available (either Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech). Parents are being encouraged to reach out to their doctor, nurse, local pharmacy, or health department, or visit vaccines.gov to see where vaccines for children are available.