Children as young as 6 months could soon get a COVID-19 shot

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Federal regulators have voted in favor of expanding the emergency use authorization for Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations to include children as young as 6 months.

Final approval could happen this weekend.

“On Monday will be the first rollout, delivery of these vaccines to doctor’s officers that are enrolled in the vaccine program, and hopefully by Tuesday we can start administering these vaccinations to the general public,” Dr. Constantine George, a pediatrician and CEO of Epitomedical said.

The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is administered as a primary series of two doses, one month apart, to individuals 6 months through 17 years of age.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is administered as a primary series of three doses in which the initial two doses are administered three weeks apart followed by a third dose administered at least eight weeks after the second dose in individuals 6 months through 4 years of age.

Dr. George said while young children don’t often get as sick from COVID-19, the benefits from the shot outweigh the risks. It could also offer protection for loved ones who are immunocompromised.

“Any vaccination that we give for years now has its own risk profile, so what I ask parents to do is to talk to your pediatrician, talk to your doctor, look at the child’s risk factors, what are their underlying medical conditions,” he said.

Children younger than 5 are the only age group not yet eligible to get the shot. Roughly 18 million youngsters will not be eligible.

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