Expanded Eligibility for COVID-19 Boosters

The Food & Drug Administration has expanded eligibility for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster to children ages 5 to 11 who completed their primary series at least five months ago. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine advisory panel met Thursday and voted in favor of approval, with the CDC itself giving its approval shortly thereafter. The authorization makes all children 5 and older who received their second shot at least five months ago eligible to receive a third shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Until now, only children ages 12 and older and adults were eligible for a booster.