By Jacqueline Howard, CNN
Pfizer and BioNTech have filed an application with the U. S. Food and Drug Administration. The U. S. Department of Health and Prevention is expected to use its updated COVID-19 vaccine as the third shot in the number one three-dose vaccine series for children ages 6 months to four years.
Vaccine manufacturers announced Monday that, if they receive authorization for emergency use, young people this age will continue to receive the original edition of the covid-19 vaccine as their first two doses, and then the updated covid-19 vaccine, formulated to target the BA. 4 and BA. 5 subvariants of the Omicron coronavirus, like the third dose.
While the number one series of COVID-19 vaccines for older children and adults involves receiving two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, a number one three-dose series has been the method for children under five.
The vaccine adapted to Omicron is recently legal for emergency use in the United States as a booster dose for other people five years of age and older.
“With the peak of respiratory illnesses circulating recently in children younger than 5, updated COVID-19 vaccines can help you avoid serious illness and hospitalizations,” according to the companies’ announcement Monday morning.
Pfizer and BioNTech’s call for the vaccine’s use in younger people comes as respiratory illnesses, including RSV, influenza and covid-19, are in overwhelming hospitals across the United States.
On Friday, in a letter to U. S. governors, the U. S. secretary of Health and Human Services said he was asked toU. S. Secretary of State Xavier Becerra noted that influenza and respiratory viruses are “increasing strain” on the country’s fitness systems.
In the letter, received exclusively through CNN, Becerra wrote that Biden’s management “is in a position to continue lending him a hand with resources, materials and personnel. “
There is no vaccine for RSV, however, fitness officials have suggested others get a flu shot and update Covid-19 boosters before winter.
In general, COVID-19 vaccinations have been slow in young children. According to data from the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the U. S. , less than five percent of children under the age of five are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, having completed their first round of vaccinations. . Among other people over the age of five, 73% are vaccinated and 13% are vaccinated and reinforced.
El-CNN-Wire™
CNN’s Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.
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