The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its routine immunization recommendations for children and adults to include the covid-19 vaccine.
health
February 10, 2023
Covid-19 vaccine now part of US recommended vaccination schedule Getty Images/E+
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added the covid-19 vaccine to its recommended immunization schedules for children, adolescents and adults.
Immunization schedules summarize the CDC’s recommendations for vaccines and help inform health care providers. Although many schools have adapted these guidelines to their students, they are not mandatory and do not establish workplace or school vaccine requirements.
The agency currently targets both the original and new strains after two doses of Moderna or Pfizer-Biontech covid-19 vaccines in children aged 6 months to 12 years with no underlying medical conditions2 We recommend 3 doses of the vaccine. Omicron subspecies. Moderna’s bivalent booster is approved for use in children 6 months and older, while Pfizer-Biontech’s booster can be used by her 5 years and older. An immunocompromised child should receive her 3 doses of Moderna or Pfizer and Biontech vaccines instead of her 2, followed by her bivalent booster.
CDC now recommends that adolescents ages 12 to 18 receive two doses of these vaccines or the Novavax vaccine, followed by a bivalent booster. As an adult, a person without underlying medical conditions should have her two doses of either the Moderna, Pfizer-Biontech or Novavax vaccine plus a bivalent booster. Adults who do not want or cannot get the bivalent vaccine can choose the Novavax booster, which targets only the original covid-19 strain. Immunocompromised individuals receive 3 doses of either Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or two doses of Novavax vaccine followed by a bivalent booster.
This update presents the covid-19 vaccine in the same way as other regularly recommended vaccinations. “In a way, this will help normalize this vaccine and send a strong message to health care providers that everyone 6 months and older should stay up to date with the recommended COVID-19 vaccine. We will send it to both individuals and the general public — including boosters if eligible — just like other vaccines that are regularly recommended,” CDC’s Neil Murthy and Akpobaum Patricia Wody told CNN said in a statement reported by
Nearly 70% of people in the US completed the primary covid-19 vaccine series, but 16 received bivalent booster shots targeting both the original covid-19 variant and BA.4/BA.5 was less than Omicron subspecies.
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