The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to children between the ages of 5 and 11.

The experts outlined that booster shots for older age groups serves as a key way to increase protection in the face of waning immunity over time from the initial shots, as well as the increased evasiveness of the omicron variant which is currently wreaking global havoc.

In a release, the FDA highlighted that the consensus to issue boosters to children ages 5-11 was based on the increased number of children being hospitalized after contracting Covid -19.

“While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, the omicron wave has seen more kids getting sick with the disease and being hospitalized, and children may also experience longer term effects, even following initially mild disease,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D.

As such, an appeal has been issued to parents to allow their children to be vaccinated in order to quell the spread of this disease.

“If your child is eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and has not yet received their primary series, getting them vaccinated can help protect them from the potentially severe consequences that can occur, such as hospitalization and death.” FDA urged