On Thursday, an advisory panel to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted in favor of COVID-19 vaccines booster doses applied in children between five and 11 years old five months after completing their primary vaccination course.
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The advisers argued that CDC data showed that COVID-19 immunization starts to wane over time and that booster dose application in older age groups prevented hospitalizations and the development of severe disease symptoms.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has not yet signed off on the committee's recommendation. Nevertheless, she signaled that she was likely to back the proposal.
"We know immunity wanes over time, so we need to do all we can to protect those most vulnerable," Walensky said, stressing that anticipating the best ways to fight the pandemic is essential to prevent contagions.
Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot was the lone committee member to vote against recommending the booster dose application since she considered that the focus should be on increasing the vaccination rate in this age group.
"Booster doses application are great once everyone have been vaccinated," she stressed. So far, only 29 percent of U.S. children between five and 11 years old have been fully immunized with the Pfizer vaccine, which has not yet been granted authorization for emergency use in children younger than five years.
As of May 19, the U.S. had reported 84,730,792 coronavirus cases and 1,028,087 related deaths, 73 of which occurred in the last 24 hours.