'Good move right now': Boston pediatrician on COVID-19 boosters for kids
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could finalize the move as early as this week.
With COVID-19 spreading, doctors say a third dose for children would be a good move right now.
“The counts still going up again. It's just it's just wise to have the children do another shot as well as adults,” said grandmother Angela Floyd.
The FDA said while COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the omicron variant has seen more kids getting sick and being hospitalized.
“I do think that a booster shot for those 5 to 11 who completed the initial two-dose series would be a good move right now,” said Dr. Kristin Moffitt with Boston Children's Hospital.
In Massachusetts, there are about 514,000 children ages 5 to 11. State data shows 252,000 fully vaccinated, while 223,200 remain unvaccinated. About 39,000 have a first dose.
Some parents remain hesitant.
“We haven't seen long results, yeah,” one parent said.
Doctors said the shots are safe and urge people to get their children vaccinated and boosted.
“It's very rare to see an otherwise healthy child who has completed a primary two-dose series and additionally got a booster require hospitalization for COVID-19,” Moffitt said.