The U.S. CDC anticipates pediatric bivalent Coronavirus jabs as booster shots for 5–11-year-olds by mid-October. The new booster dose will target two versions of the lethal SARS-CoV-2 – the original one and the most contagious BA.5 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants, first detected in South Africa in January & February 2022, respectively. But the prior developed booster doses targeted only the original strain.
Currently, the Omicron sub-variants, labeled as BA.4 & BA.5, have together become the most dominant variants in America, according to the CDC’s latest estimates.
The monovalent Coronavirus boosters are currently approved and recommended for Americans 5-11y and would remain available to this age cohort until suitable bivalent doses get official approval and recommendation. If the Food and Drug Administration OKs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects authorization for the bivalent vaccine as booster doses for US children aged 5-11 years.
In addition, the bivalent products likely to be given due consideration include the updated vaccine shot developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE for 5-11-year-olds, and a modified vaccine shot manufactured by Moderna in 6-11-year-olds, for those who have already got their initial vaccine doses.
Previously on September 1, 2022, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, endorsed the CDC’s ACIP recommendation for the use of modified Pfizer-manufactured Coronavirus booster shots for Americans ages 12 years and up, and updated Moderna shots for 18-year-olds and above.
Furthermore, according to CDC’s updated guide, it’s anticipated that if the updated boosters received an official use recommendation in individuals aged five years and up as a booster, the use of monovalent messenger-RNA Coronavirus jabs as boosters might be discontinued.
USG Procured 170M Bivalent CCOVID-19 Vaccine Doses
The vaccine manufacturers should analyze any FDA & CDC instructions for updated boosters in kids 5-year-olds & up since updated COVID-19 vaccines might be the only approved and recommended Coronavirus booster doses for this age cohort. However, currently, it’s anticipated that monovalent jabs, which contain a component from the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 – would remain suitable for initial vaccinations for the above-specified group.
Currently, the United States Government has acquired over 170m shots of updated vaccine for dispensation. In addition, of course, it’s a part of envisioned 2022 fall and winter season inoculation campaign that would include monovalent & bivalent jabs projected to maximize availability and consumption across multiple age groups in the U.S. to guarantee the safety and protection of the US population against currently circulating genetic variants of Coronavirus.
Source: Web
According to data from JHU’s Coronavirus Resource Center, as of Sept. 22, more than 95 million cases have been reported; unfortunately, more than 1,055,195 Americans have lost their lives due to COVID-19.
