CDC Panel Adds COVID Shot To Kids’ Routine Vaccine Schedule
Dylan Housman
Healthcare Reporter
October 20, 2022 1:51 PM ET
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) panel of expert vaccine advisers voted Thursday to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the children’s immunization schedule.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted by a count of 15-0 to add the COVID-19 shots to the immunization schedule, which is a recommended list of vaccines for pediatricians to give children at certain points throughout their development. The addition itself does not mandate that any children receive the vaccine; however, a number of states follow the CDC recommendations when developing their vaccination requirements for public schools.
https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1583148782170288128Children between the ages of six months and 18 years should receive a two-dose series of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, according to the committee. The immunization schedule does not include a suggestion for boosters, although the CDC already recommends children aged five and older receive a bivalent booster for the virus.
Reaction to the decision was mixed. Some healthcare professionals criticized the move as unnecessary, and argued it would undermine confidence in other vaccines on the schedule. Dr. Vinay Prasad, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California at San Francisco, said there is “no convincing evidence” the vaccine will help the vast majority of kids who have already been infected with COVID-19.
Others disagree. Dr. Paul Offit, co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine and director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told the Daily Caller he supports the move. “Three to four million children are born every year who are susceptible” to COVID-19, he said, adding that more than 1,000 children have died with COVID-19 during the pandemic, according to CDC data.
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https://dailycaller.com/2022/10/20/cdc-kids-immunization-schedule-covid-coronavirus-vaccine/