COVID-19 booster: Pfizer to seek extra shot for healthy kids 5 to 11
FILE IMAGE - A health worker prepares a COVID-19 vaccine for children. (Photo by Teera Noisakran/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) Pfizer said Thursday it wants to expand its COVID-19 booster shots to healthy elementary-age kids.U.S.
health authorities already urge everyone 12 and older to get one booster dose for the best protection against the newest variants -- and recently gave the option of a second booster to those 50 and older.Now Pfizer says new data shows healthy 5- to 11-year-olds could benefit from another kid-sized shot.In a small study, 140 youngsters who’d already gotten two shots were given a booster six months later, and researchers found the extra shot generally revved up their immune response.
But a closer look at 30 of the children found a 36-fold increase in virus-fighting antibodies, levels high enough to fight the super-contagious omicron variant, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said in a press release.The data has not been published or vetted by independent experts.A new, wearable device may help alert you if you are exposed to COVID-19.
Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health developed an easy-to-clip-on device that can help detect low levels of SARS-COV-2 and subsequently whether a person has been exposed.Pfizer tested the kid booster while omicron was surging this winter.
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