Q: What are the current age ranges for children to get the COVID-19 vaccine?
A: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for all children and adolescents 12 and older who do not have a contraindication. Currently, children 12 and older are eligible to get the Pfizer vaccine. Although the risk of COVID-19 causing severe illness and hospitalization is much lower for children compared to adults, it is still possible your child could become ill. Indeed, children with underlying health conditions may be at increased risk for severe illness.
Pfizer and Moderna are running pediatric trials to study the efficacy and safety of their coronavirus vaccines for children under 12. Data from those trials will be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which will review results and make a decision on emergency-use authorization. That is expected sometime in the fall.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Family Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommend children receive all vaccines according to the recommended vaccine schedule, now including the COVID-19 vaccine. Be sure to speak with your child’s pediatrician to learn more about how the COVID-19 vaccine can protect your child, especially with the start of the fall school semester.
On Aug. 23, the FDA granted full approval of the Pfizer vaccine for people 16 years and up, moving it beyond emergency-use status for this age range. Full approval was granted following review of Pfizer data from 44,000 clinical-trial participants in the United States and several other countries since the pandemic began. The Pfizer emergency-use authorization continues to allow children and adolescents 12 and older to get the vaccine.