COVID Booster Shots For Kids 5-11: What It Means In Michigan

MICHIGAN — As COVID-19 cases trend upward across the state, mainly due to a descendant of the omicron variant, children ages 5-11 may soon be able to get COVID-19 booster shots.

Just as the uptick in cases pushed some schools, businesses and employers require mask mandates again, including some in the metro Detroit area, the FDA amended the emergency authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Tuesday, clearing the booster dose for kids between 5-11.

It’s the first step in a process that could make the shots available to Michigan's kids later this week. Under the authorization, the booster can be given at least five months after the kids completed the initial vaccine series.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of outside experts, is expected to sanction the boosters Thursday, and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is expected to give her approval soon after.

At the same time, the federal government is giving away a third round of free COVID-19 tests. The program now offers eight tests to be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.

Health experts say the new subvariant, known as BA.2.12.1, is particularly worrisome because it is more transmissible than other highly contagious omicron subvariants, and because it’s able to evade antibodies built up from vaccines or previous infections.

The BA.2.12.1 accounts for 44.7 percent of total cases in the Midwest region that includes Michigan. The variant has also been steadily increasing since late March in the region.

Federal officials deemed 16 Michigan counties, including Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties in the high category for COVID-19 transmissibility. Positive cases rose Wednesday to 27,705, a steady increase since April 13 when state officials reported 7,725 cases.

Pfizer-BioNTech said last month that a clinical trial involving 140 children showed the booster shot improves children’s immunity both against the original strain of the coronavirus and the omicron variant.

The effectiveness of vaccines wanes over time, and children between 5 and 11 would become the youngest Americans eligible to get the extra level of protection with the approval of the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration.

That leaves children under 5 as the only Americans for whom vaccines are not available. Both Pfizer and Moderna have clinical trials underway to determine the best vaccine regimen for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.

Pfizer paused its application for approval of the vaccine for children under 5 after the FDA asked for more data. Moderna has asked regulators to approve vaccines for young children.

In March, regulators approved a second COVID-19 booster shot for people 50 and older.