Pfizer to seek COVID booster for healthy 5- to 11-year-olds

Pfizer says it wants to expand its COVID-19 booster shots to elementary-age kids.

U.S. health authorities already urge everyone 12 and older to get one booster for the best protection against the newest variants — and recently gave the option of a second booster to those 50 and older.

In Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends first booster doses for adults, but only for 12- to 17-year-olds if they are at higher risk of severe outcomes from a COVID infection. Second booster doses are recommended for seniors aged 80 and up and people living in long-term care. It’s also suggested for people in their 70s.

Now, Pfizer says new data shows healthy five- to 11-year-olds could benefit from another kid-sized shot.

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In a small study, 140 youngsters who’d already gotten two shots were given a booster six months later, and researchers found the extra shot generally revved up their immune response. But a closer look at 30 of the children found a 36-fold increase in virus-fighting antibodies, levels high enough to fight the super-contagious Omicron variant, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said in a press release.

The data has not been published or vetted by independent experts.

Pfizer tested the kid booster while Omicron was surging this winter. While COVID-19 cases now are at much lower levels in the U.S., in recent weeks an even more contagious version of Omicron, called BA.2, has become the dominant type locally and around the world.

In the coming days, the companies plan to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize a booster for healthy five- to 11-year-olds. They also plan to share the data with European and other regulators.

Vaccinations are generally less effective against the Omicron variant than earlier versions of the coronavirus — but they do still offer strong protection against severe disease. While COVID-19 is a bigger threat to adults, youngsters can get seriously ill. But regulators will have to decide if healthy elementary-age kids really need a booster, and if so, when.

The U.S. and Canada have not yet allowed vaccinations for children under five.