COVID Booster For VA, DC Kids Gets FDA Nod: What To Know

VIRGINIA — As the latest coronavirus omicron variant pushes cases and deaths up in Virginia, children ages 5 to 11 could soon be able to receive COVID-19 booster shots 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 DC and Virginia kids later this week.

The Virginia Department of Health said on Friday that most of the state's health districts (22 of 35) are now in surge, with another 11 in slow growth of cases.

"Models forecast a significant surge of cases in the coming weeks," the department said. "Case rates are not expected to reach levels seen during the January wave. But they will likely exceed those seen in pre-omicron waves."

Under the FDA 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 CDC estimates that the BA.2.12.1 subvariant represents almost 50 percent of new cases in Virginia, and it will likely become dominant in the next few weeks. The subvariant is more transmissible than the ancestral BA.2.

As of May 14, 56.1 percent of the COVID cases in those states are the new variant; 46.3 percent of cases are the earlier BA.2 variant; and .3 percent are the B.1.1.529 variant.

The Virginia COVID dashboard said Tuesday the state's positivity rate is 14.6 percent for PCR tests. The state saw 3,553 cases in the past 24 hours, up from 3,426 cases on Sunday.

In total, the pandemic has taken the lives of 20,328 Virginians, with 18 deaths in the last day.

On Tuesday, 390 people were hospitalized with COVID. Of that total, 57 patients were in intensive care units, and 28 were on ventilators.

Residents can schedule a COVID vaccination or booster near them via retail pharmacies and community vaccination centers at vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 877-VAX-IN-VA (877-829-4682).

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.