Megan Fehrenbach ’22
In the fall of this year, two major changes were made in the requirements of the COVID-19 in regards to age and booster shots. Although it took a long time for these decisions to be made, they could have positive effects in terms of the pandemic coming to an end within the next few months.
Both the CDC and the FDA approved the vaccination of children from ages 5-11 in the United States. This new age range will allow for more than 28 million children to be able to receive vaccinations in the United States. According to the CDC, the vaccine is over 90% effective in children from ages 5-11. After the spike in the number of Delta variant cases over the summer, the number of cases in children hospitalized in the United States surged. As of mid November, the only COVID-19 vaccine available to this age group is the Pfizer-BioNTech immunization. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, recommends that parents of children in this age range speak with their pediatrician to learn of the importance of getting vaccinated.
In addition to the new age range, all adults eighteen or older have all been given the opportunity to receive the booster shot, regardless of the type of vaccination received. However, the CDC is recommending that all adults, eighteen or older, who received the Johnson & Johnson should get the booster, while adults above the age of eighteen who received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine can get the booster. Every adult above the age of fifty should also receive the booster shot. The CDC also allows for the brand of booster to be different from the original brand of vaccine.
With these new changes in age limitations and booster opportunities, there are hopes throughout the United States that the pandemic will end within the next few months. The CDC will closely monitor the results of these new plans for the vaccine, and make decisions based on the results as to how the pandemic will be handled.
Border by Katie Nguyen ’23