FDA clears Covid-19 booster shots for children under 5

U.S. regulators on Thursday cleared doses of the updated Covid 19 vaccine for children younger than age 5.

The Food and Drug Administration decision aims to protect the littlest kids from severe Covid 19 at a time when children's hospitals are already packed with tots suffering from a variety of respiratory illnesses.

Omicron-targeted booster shots made by Moderna and Pfizer were already open to everyone 5 and older.

The FDA has cleared their use in tots starting at age 6 months, but just who is eligible depends on what vaccine they already have, and what kind of vaccine they have already had. Since the shots for the littlest kids began in June, few youngsters have gotten the full primary series.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to sign off soon, the last step for shots to begin.

Only 3% of all tots under 2 and nearly 5% of those 2 to 4 have gotten their primary dose, according to the CDC.

The vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks, FDA vaccine chief, said in a statement that vaccines are the best defense against the most devastating consequences of the disease caused by the currently circulating omicron variant.

Moderna and Pfizer have updated vaccines that contain half of the original vaccine and half tweaked to match the BA. There were 5 omicron strains that were dominant until recently. 5 descendants are responsible for most of the Covid 19 cases.

The CDC released its first real-world data last month showing that an updated booster, using either company's version, does offer added protection to adults. The analysis found that the greatest benefit was in people who had never had a prior booster, just two doses of the original Covid-19 vaccine - but that even those who had a summertime dose were more protected than if they skipped the newest shot.