On Thursday, the CDC added COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters to its list of recommended vaccines for children, adolescents, and adults.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made the recommendation, which was subsequently endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics.
While the CDC may provide recommendations, they cannot legally require vaccinations in public places like schools and workplaces. Governments at the state level are the only ones with the authority to impose such requirements.
According to CNN, the revised vaccination schedule highlights the significance of the immunizations for various age groups, as stated by the report’s authors, Drs. Neil Murthy and A. Patricia Wodi.
When making recommendations, the committee takes into account both the scientific evidence for vaccines and their safety, as well as the social effects of the illness that may be prevented by vaccination.
The updated recommendations state that children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years old may select between a three-dose Pfizer-BioNTech primary course or a two-dose Moderna primary series followed by a bivalent Moderna booster.
The plan calls for two doses of Moderna, followed by the company’s bivalent mRNA booster, or two shots of Pfizer-BioNtech, followed by its bivalent booster, for children aged 5 years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends two doses of the Moderna vaccine or two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech injection, followed by an mRNA booster, for children ages 6 to 11.
Young adults between the ages of 12 and 18 have the option of receiving either a bivalent booster for the Moderna series or a trivalent booster for the Pfizer-BioNTech or Novavax series.
The main series for adults consists of two injections, and a booster shot is available in two different forms. Additional recommendations for immunocompromised children, adolescents, and adults are included in the paper.
This year’s schedule includes new or modified recommendations for many vaccinations in addition to COVID, including influenza, pneumococcal, measles, mumps, and rubella.
There has been a nationwide decline in the rate at which children get vaccinated, perhaps due to the combination of decades of parental hesitance over the measles vaccine and the more recent reaction against COVID-related protections like vaccine mandates.
The FDA has reported a weekly total of more than 282,820 instances of COVID and more than 3,170 fatalities attributable to COVID. Sixty-nine percent or more of Americans have finished the main course of the COVID vaccination, and 15 percent of the population has received the bivalent booster.
