COVID Booster For Kids Gets FDA OK In New Jersey: What To Know

NEW JERSEY — Children ages 5 to 11 in New Jersey could soon get COVID-19 booster shots as a descendant of the omicron variant causes an uptick in cases around the country.

The FDA amended the emergency authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Tuesday, authorizing the booster dose for kids between 5-11. It’s the first step in a process that could make the shots available to New Jersey'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. BA.2.12.1 represented 73.1 percent of the New Jersey region's cases, according to the CDC.

Nationwide, COVID cases among children have increased for five straight weeks, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"It is important to recognize there are immediate effects of the pandemic on children’s health, but importantly we need to identify and address the long-lasting impacts on the physical, mental, and social well-being of this generation of children and youth," the American Academy of Pediatrics said.

Children tend to carry less risk of severe illness or death from COVID. But the prevalence of "long COVID" among the age group requires further research, according to The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. Long COVID refers to a wide range of ongoing health problems that can emerge well after even a mild infection.

Meanwhile, New Jersey has some of the nation's highest COVID levels, according to the CDC. Nine counties in the state have "high" community levels of the virus, which triggers the agency's recommendations for masking at indoor, public spaces in these locations. Read more: Face Masks Recommended In 9 NJ Counties As U.S. Marks 1M COVID Deaths

The state has seen an uptick in COVID hospitalizations recently. At the end of March, hospitals around the state had 339 patients with confirmed or suspected COVID, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. The state had 829 COVID patients in hospitals as of Monday.

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.