FDA clears updated COVID-19 vaccines for kids under age 5
FDA clears updated COVID-19 vaccines for kids under age 5
U.S. regulators on Thursday cleared doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than age 5.
The Food and Drug Administration's decision aims to better protect the littlest kids amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases around the country -- at a time when children's hospitals already are packed with tots suffering from other respiratory illnesses including the flu.
"Vaccination is the best way we know to help prevent the serious outcomes of COVID-19, such as hospitalization and death," Dr. Peter Marks, FDA's vaccine chief, told The Associated Press.
Omicron-targeted booster shots made by Moderna and rival Pfizer already were open to everyone 5 and older.
The FDA now has authorized use of the tweaked shots starting at age 6 months -- but just who is eligible depends on how many vaccinations they've already had, and which kind. Only about 5% of youngsters under age 5 have gotten the full primary series since vaccinations for the littlest kids began in June.
The FDA decided that:
--Children under age 6 who've already gotten two original doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine can get a single booster of Moderna's updated formula if it's been at least two months since their last shot.
--Pfizer's vaccine requires three initial doses for tots under age 5 -- and those who haven't finished that vaccination series will get the original formula for the first two shots and the omicron-targeted version for their third shot.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to sign off soon, the final step for shots to begin.
Marks said the bivalent vaccine is safe for tots and will help parents "keep the protection for those children as up to date as possible."
But children under 5 who already got all three Pfizer doses aren't yet eligible for an updated booster.
For now, "the good news is they are probably reasonably well-protected," Marks said.
The FDA expects data from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech sometime next month to determine whether those tots will need an omicron-targeted booster "and we will act on that as soon as we can," he said.
For parents who haven't yet gotten their children vaccinated, it's not too late -- especially as "we are entering a phase when COVID-19 cases are increasing," Marks said.
The updated vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer are combination shots, containing half the original vaccine and half tweaked to match the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron strains that until recently were dominant. Now BA.5 descendants are responsible for most COVID-19 cases.
The CDC last month released the first real-world data showing that an updated booster, using either company's version, does offer added protection to adults. The analysis found the greatest benefit was in people who'd never had a prior booster, just two doses of the original COVID-19 vaccine -- but that even those who'd had a summertime dose were more protected than if they'd skipped the newest shot.
---
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content
Sign up to receive the most important updates in your inbox two times a week
This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, orange, emerging from the surface of cells, green, cultured in the lab. (NIAID-RML via AP)
A senior government official says a Canadian military assessment team is on its way to Turkiye in the wake of a devastating earthquake that's killed thousands.
A man has been arrested and two children are dead after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The deadly crash sent multiple children to area hospitals and parents scrambling to find their kids shortly after they dropped them off for the day at the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose, north of Montreal.
Many Canadians are experiencing strains caused by the increased cost of living and inflation. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, contributor Christopher Liew shares some of the top credits and deductions that you may be able to claim on your income tax return to help you save money.
The officer who pulled Tyre Nichols from his car before police fatally beat him never explained why he was being stopped, newly released documents show, and emerging reports from Memphis residents suggest that was common.
In a first for the Bank of Canada, it has released a summary of deliberations by its governing council regarding its policy decision to raise its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 per cent in January. Here are five key takeaways from those discussions.
Netflix Canada is rolling out its long-anticipated plans to crack down on password sharing, saying it will begin notifying Canadian users today by email about limitations.
The way respiratory viruses have circulated this fall and winter, most Canadians could probably benefit from a hand-hygiene refresher. Here are the latest hand-washing best practices to apply in your daily life.
Condolences are pouring in on Parliament Hill after a Laval, Que., city bus crashed into a daycare on Wednesday morning, with federal politicians of all stripes expressing their sympathies with the families affected and gratitude to the first responders.
A man has been arrested and two children are dead after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The deadly crash sent multiple children to area hospitals and parents scrambling to find their kids shortly after they dropped them off for the day at the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose, north of Montreal.
The Bank of Canada released a summary of its Governing Council meetings on Wednesday, providing the public and financial institutions with more insight into the central bank’s decision to raise its key interest rate on Jan. 25.
A senior government official says a Canadian military assessment team is on its way to Turkiye in the wake of a devastating earthquake that's killed thousands.
An associate of Ontario’s self-described “crypto king” was operating his own fraud scam parallel to the multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme, court documents allege.
Humanitarian groups that have been supporting Ukrainian refugees are calling on Ottawa to extend a special immigration program that allows people fleeing Ukraine to temporarily live, work and study in Canada.
It’s been over a year since Faith Emenike filled out an application in hopes that her family would be able to visit her in Canada as she gave birth to her first child—but all she’s heard is radio silence.
The officer who pulled Tyre Nichols from his car before police fatally beat him never explained why he was being stopped, newly released documents show, and emerging reports from Memphis residents suggest that was common.
The Chinese balloon shot down off the South Carolina coast was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for 'several years,' the Pentagon said Wednesday.
In the aftermath of the deadly earthquake that struck Syria and Turkiye, Canadians are donating money and supplies to rescue and relief efforts there. CTVNews.ca rounds up ways you can contribute to charities based in Canada and abroad.
Key to detecting the faintest noise, which could be the sign of a survivor buried beneath rubble from Monday's quake in Turkiye and Syria. Among the wreckage of a collapsed 14-story building in the Turkish city of Adana, the shriek of an whistle pierced the noise every few minutes on Wednesday.
Opal Lee, the 96-year-old Texan whose efforts helped make Juneteenth a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S., became on Wednesday only the second Black person whose portrait will hang in the senate chamber of the state Capitol.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought his daughter to visit troops to mark the 75th founding anniversary of the country's army as he lauded the "irresistible might" of his nuclear-armed military, state media said Wednesday.
Condolences are pouring in on Parliament Hill after a Laval, Que., city bus crashed into a daycare on Wednesday morning, with federal politicians of all stripes expressing their sympathies with the families affected and gratitude to the first responders.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says that if he becomes prime minister he would uphold the 10-year deals Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is looking to ink with provinces and territories that would inject $46.2 billion in new funding into Canada's strained health-care systems.
A senior government official says a Canadian military assessment team is on its way to Turkiye in the wake of a devastating earthquake that's killed thousands.
According to newly released data, six provinces had increased wait times for walk-in clinics in 2022, with Canadians waiting an average of 37 minutes before seeing a physician.
The way respiratory viruses have circulated this fall and winter, most Canadians could probably benefit from a hand-hygiene refresher. Here are the latest hand-washing best practices to apply in your daily life.
Balloons and drones were among 768 reported UFO sightings in Canada last year, according to Winnipeg-based researcher Chris Rutkowski, who also found that eight per cent of all cases remained unexplained.
Microsoft is fusing ChatGPT-like technology into its search engine Bing, transforming an internet service that now trails far behind Google into a new way of communicating with artificial intelligence.
We may soon be able to detect humidity levels, respiratory changes or a too-wet diaper, all with a new type of sensor — one created by drawing with a pencil on specially-treated paper.
Netflix Canada is rolling out its long-anticipated plans to crack down on password sharing, saying it will begin notifying Canadian users today by email about limitations.
A judge on Wednesday set bail at US$300,000 for a former 'Dances With Wolves' actor charged in Nevada with sexually abusing and trafficking Indigenous women and girls. North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Craig Newman said Nathan Chasing Horse must stay with a relative if he is released from jail.
While audiences rush back to theatres to catch 'Avatar: The Way of Water' on pricey Imax screens, the head of Cineplex Inc. says he's open to 'experiments' with cheaper tickets for some movies if they might lure back people who are staying home.
In a first for the Bank of Canada, it has released a summary of deliberations by its governing council regarding its policy decision to raise its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.5 per cent in January. Here are five key takeaways from those discussions.
The Bank of Canada released a summary of its Governing Council meetings on Wednesday, providing the public and financial institutions with more insight into the central bank’s decision to raise its key interest rate on Jan. 25.
The parent company of the master franchisee of Tim Hortons coffee shops in China says it has signed a deal for the exclusive development of Popeyes in mainland China and Macau.
It was Valentine's Day 1917 in the Minnesota farming village of Lewiston, and Fred Roth -- a fourth grader -- seems to have come up with just the way to express his love for his sweetheart, Louise Wirt. He gave her a card.
As Valentine's Day approaches, many Canadians are preparing to celebrate by taking their loved ones to dinner and buying them gifts, but how much are we spending on this day coast to coast?
LeBron James is the NBA's new career scoring leader. With a stepback jump shot with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, James pushed his career total to 38,388 points on Tuesday night and broke the record that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held for nearly four decades.
Big name advertisers from Netflix to Google are paying as much as US$7 million for a 30-second spot during the NFL's Super Bowl championship game on Sunday, in order to capture the attention of the roughly 100 million U.S. viewers who tune in each year.
Surfer Bethany Hamilton says she won't compete at future World Surf League (WSL) events if it upholds its new policy on transgender athletes, saying she wants to see a different division created for transgender people to compete in.
Automakers Renault and Nissan on Monday formalized their reboot of a relationship that had grown rocky, culminating in the spectacular fall of top executive Carlos Ghosn, who had led successful turnarounds at both companies before his arrest and daring escape.
New research suggests that cutting fossil fuel emissions by adopting electric vehicles can improve air quality and potentially reduce respiratory problems in communities. But these benefits may not apply to all neighbourhoods in the same way.
Former NFL player Jim Bob Morris is heading to the Super Bowl in Phoenix from Bloomington, Illinois, in a newly refurbished set of wheels. His ride has new paint, new seating and even a new bathroom.
