On Wednesday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the updated Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 booster shots for children as young as five. The updated booster shot was approved to ensure better protection against COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant.

The global regulatory body has authorized the updated fiber-BioNTech boosters for children between the ages of 5 and 11, and Moderna′s shots for kids aged between 6 and 17. The immunization is to be administered at least two months following completion of the two-dose primary series or the most recent booster shot with the first-generation vaccines.

The updated COVID-19 vaccine has added Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components to the current vaccine composition, thereby ensuring a restoration of immune protection that has waned since the previous vaccination. This updated vaccine also targets the recent Omicron variants that are more transmissible and immune-evading.

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA′s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, stated that children are facing an increased risk of exposure to the virus as they head back to school in person and families return to their pre-pandemic lives. Although COVID-19 is less severe in children than in adults, children are being hospitalized as a result of infection.

He added that health officials are also concerned about the potential risk of long-term COVID in children who have contracted the virus. Hence, they encouraged parents to consider primary vaccination for children and follow up with an updated booster dose if they are eligible.