Does your child need a booster? | Today’s MedPage

Six months have passed since the FDA approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. For children 12 to 15 years oldEncourage parents to ask their children if they need a booster, especially in the face of Omicron varieties and diminished efficacy in adults.

Pfizer Requested approval Booster for kids 16 and 17 years old Today’s MedPage Currently, we are not conducting clinical trials of boosters for infants.

When asked if there were plans to seek booster approval for those children, Pfizer spokesman Jerika Pitts said. Today’s MedPage In the email, “The plan for booster research in this age group has not yet been finalized, and we are pleased to be able to provide you with the latest information in that regard.”

Pfizer did not answer follow-up questions about clinical trials of boosters for children. Also, Moderna did not return a request for comment on the child’s booster (although the vaccine has not yet been approved for children under the age of 18).

Infectious disease and pediatric experts say they haven’t rushed to boost young children yet. For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics states that there is currently no position for booster shots for children.

According to CDC data, people under the age of 18 Minimum rate of breakthrough cases, And the breakthrough mortality rate for adults aged 65 and over was the highest. NS Hospitalization rate As of the end of September, the number of vaccinated children aged 12 to 17 was 0.3 per 100,000, while the number of adults was 3.8 per 100,000.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Said CNN Young people are only equipped with better equipment to fight the disease, and their immunity with the vaccine may last longer.

“They may go for a much longer period before they begin to decline,” he said. “They have a very strong immune system, so it’s not surprising that they have protection that disappears well beyond that six months.”

Dr. Paul Offit of Philadelphia Children’s Hospital agreed, but believes that most people do not need boosters, except for the elderly, immunocompromised, and people in long-term care facilities.

If the goal of the vaccine is to prevent serious illness, he said, two doses are still doing it.

Children admitted with COVID at Offit’s facility were almost always unvaccinated, he said.

Young people are at increased risk of myocarditis, because the side effects of the mRNA vaccine should not be ignored when considering a third dose, Ofitt said.

“This is a very rare risk, but it’s a real risk, not a trivial matter. As long as the profit clearly and clearly outweighs the risk, this is fine,” he said, and they widely recommend it. Evidence of better protection against serious illness by children’s boosters before being done.

Ofit and other experts say that vaccination of unvaccinated people (adults and children alike) is more urgent at this time.

Allison Agwu, MD, ScM of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore said: Today’s MedPage The priority is “We are doing our best to mitigate the spread (no matter how ill the COVID is), and we guarantee that millions of unvaccinated individuals will be vaccinated. To do. “

Indeed, CDC directors Rochelle Walensky, MD and MPH I strongly encouraged everyone Over 18 years old to get booster shots, especially with the advent of varieties of Omicron.

However, Offit argued that “these third doses are much better for those who are already largely protected from serious illness and are sending to developing countries.”

About 69% of the US population Vaccinated at least once compared to only 6% of classified countries As “low income”. In West Africa and Central Africa, as well as in Yemen, Syria and Papua New Guinea, some countries have the lowest vaccination rates.